Page 169 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2019. Vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju - The Role of National Opera Houses in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 3
P. 169
opera without theatre
Opera is no sacred Cow – declare operamaniacs, who are deter-
mined to continue straining and draining this swollen genre. Al-
though opera is considered an attribute and priority of the national
culture politics, honestly speaking even on that level it is no longer
a sacred cow, so it’s time to grab the scalpel and slice off those extra
chunks or get into genetic experiments and devise a new breed alto-
gether. It’s not an artistic hooliganism, it’s a shot for a goal!
The 20th century has been the time of extreme changes for many
art manifestations, among which is also opera – from gigantic
utopian week-long operas with helicopters (“Licht” by Karlheinz
Stockhausen) to microscopic casual several minute-long operas
that last as long as it takes to boil a raw egg (“Sands of Time” by
Peter Reynolds). It leaves no doubt to operamaniacs that in the 21st
century it’s time to replace those “giga” and “micro” with “tera”
and “nano”!
Nanoopera for the accelerating society – this is the motto for opera-
maniacs who yearn for opera to remain a part of living culture rath-
er than become a museum exhibit. Opera must confront and react
to hectic contemporary daily routines and respond to cult of speed:
fast food, fast city, fast internet, fast sex, fast loans, crazy deadlines
and shrinking terms. That’s why it’s time for fast and short opera!
Nanoopera for nanobudget – operamaniacs are raising their hands,
giving a middle finger to unfriendly circumstances and declare with
certainty that lack inspires. Because a mid-size opera on a sad lit-
tle budget can turn into a nasty death-row anorectic faster than
you can say “economy”, it’s essential to introduce a resistant pig-
my species of operas that would survive the radioactive nanobudget
conditions and that could thrive in non-traditional environments
and awkward settings. And that’s a metamorphosis rather than
metaphor!”17
Contemporary hybridization
Modern opera has often tried to break out of its conventional framework
first through new definitions: monodrama, melodrama, lyric drama, drama
in music, musical theatre, instrumental theatre, musical action, etc. All the-
se new formulas are intended primarily to clarify the pre-eminence of cer-
17 “Nano Opera Manifesto”, in 5th Contemporary opera festival NOA: New (nano) Op-
era Action, Vilnius, December 19, 2012. Festival program, p. 3.
167
Opera is no sacred Cow – declare operamaniacs, who are deter-
mined to continue straining and draining this swollen genre. Al-
though opera is considered an attribute and priority of the national
culture politics, honestly speaking even on that level it is no longer
a sacred cow, so it’s time to grab the scalpel and slice off those extra
chunks or get into genetic experiments and devise a new breed alto-
gether. It’s not an artistic hooliganism, it’s a shot for a goal!
The 20th century has been the time of extreme changes for many
art manifestations, among which is also opera – from gigantic
utopian week-long operas with helicopters (“Licht” by Karlheinz
Stockhausen) to microscopic casual several minute-long operas
that last as long as it takes to boil a raw egg (“Sands of Time” by
Peter Reynolds). It leaves no doubt to operamaniacs that in the 21st
century it’s time to replace those “giga” and “micro” with “tera”
and “nano”!
Nanoopera for the accelerating society – this is the motto for opera-
maniacs who yearn for opera to remain a part of living culture rath-
er than become a museum exhibit. Opera must confront and react
to hectic contemporary daily routines and respond to cult of speed:
fast food, fast city, fast internet, fast sex, fast loans, crazy deadlines
and shrinking terms. That’s why it’s time for fast and short opera!
Nanoopera for nanobudget – operamaniacs are raising their hands,
giving a middle finger to unfriendly circumstances and declare with
certainty that lack inspires. Because a mid-size opera on a sad lit-
tle budget can turn into a nasty death-row anorectic faster than
you can say “economy”, it’s essential to introduce a resistant pig-
my species of operas that would survive the radioactive nanobudget
conditions and that could thrive in non-traditional environments
and awkward settings. And that’s a metamorphosis rather than
metaphor!”17
Contemporary hybridization
Modern opera has often tried to break out of its conventional framework
first through new definitions: monodrama, melodrama, lyric drama, drama
in music, musical theatre, instrumental theatre, musical action, etc. All the-
se new formulas are intended primarily to clarify the pre-eminence of cer-
17 “Nano Opera Manifesto”, in 5th Contemporary opera festival NOA: New (nano) Op-
era Action, Vilnius, December 19, 2012. Festival program, p. 3.
167
