Skip to content

ISSN: 2446-211X

  • 54k
  • 43k
Search
Close
  • Home
  • Design
  • Programs
    • UNITA For Future
  • Interviews
  • Exhibitions
  • Academia
Menu
  • Home
  • Design
  • Programs
    • UNITA For Future
  • Interviews
  • Exhibitions
  • Academia
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains

Opera

Opera

Author

Giuliano Picchi

Published

January 20, 2018

[instagram-feed feed=2]

Peter Sellars‘ Staging of  Kaija Saariaho’s new opera Only the sound remains world premiered at the Dutch National Opera in 2016 opening the Opera Forward Festival. Co-commissioned by the Opéra national de Paris, the production will be on stage at Palais Garnier starting February 23.

Only the Sound Remains brings together two short operas, Always Strong and Feather Mantle, inspired by the two plays from Japanese Noh theatre Tsunemasa and Hagoromo in the translation by Ezra Pound and Ernest Fenollosa.

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

In Always Strong, after a violent death in combat, the tormented Tsunemasa reappears at court: his spirit has been deprived of the happiness of playing the lute, an instrument from which his skill once drew enchanting sounds.

In Feather Mantle, a fisherman appropriates a mantle which he finds hanging from a branch. A young nymph asks him to give it back so that she can return to heaven. In exchange, she promises him the offering of a dance.

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

Resorting to Noh theatre, Sellars intends to use opera to create a quiet moment of total focus and concentration in “a world that’s super noisy”, a means to get in the world, not just on the surface of it. “Opera comes in many sizes,” Sellars says, “Why not make it intimate, private, and personal, since we’re in a world that is so everything else?”

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

“We are running from thing to thing without actually breathing. What would it mean just to stop? Japanese Noh theatre is a kind of ritual theatre which slows down your body rhythm. It literally slows your heartbeat down so you can begin first to breathe and then to experience the emotions that you’re pushing away. You can actually realize how much emotion you’re carrying with you already that you’re ignoring every day.”

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

For the set, Ethiopian-American artist Julie Mehretu has created two giant canvases on which slashing and violent, still calligraphic, gestures create a layered mindscape. A sense of human life made of inkblots, hasty improvisations, transparencies. The lighting designed by James F. Ingalls brings Mehretu’s work to a pulsing life in a variety of shades. “We let the light move inside it,” says Sellars, “we let it pulse, gradually become brighter, we gradually darken it. We tint it with strange lavender for the dawn. We let the painting itself breathe and move and come to life. We use these very subtle techniques to let the world itself begin to be deep and to have lots of emotional power concentrated. Have lots of basic feeling.”

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

In the first part, the canvas “is the edge between life and death that the spirits are trying to get through,” continues Sellars.

“In the second play, there’s another painting we light behind and in front. Philippe [Jaroussky, the Spirit] is inside this painting and we see him through it, we create ceremonies around and through this work. In a world where the stage is mostly dark and so we don’t even see the canvas edges. We are inside this night storm, this scape of the mind and of the emotion.”

Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz
Julie Mehretu, Only the sound remains | Staging P. Sellars | Photo © Ruth Walz

In each opera, costume designer Robby Duiveman has made for Philippe Jaroussky three costumes with different grey shades. “They start as grey and then go darker and darker,” says Sellars, “so that the characters disappear into the painting. For the second piece, the grey has become lighter and lighter so they emerge from the painting. These beings are going in and out of this landscape, seascape, mindscape.”

The production will be at Opéra national de Paris until February 7. Costumes are by Robby Duiveman, light design by James F. Ingalls, set design by Julie Mehretu, directed by Peter Sellars.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Share this

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Robert Wilson, Pelléas et Mélisande

Theatre in the Expanded Field: Seven Approaches to Performance, by Alan Read

Theatre in the Expanded Field: Seven Approaches to Performance, by Alan Read

3D Printing Basics for Entertainment Design

Facebook-f Twitter Instagram

Follow uS

© 2023 Scenography Today. All rights reserved.

  • Contact
  • About
Menu
  • Contact
  • About
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_86839159_11 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
  • Front Page
  • Design
  • Interviews
  • Exhibitions
  • Academia
Menu
  • Front Page
  • Design
  • Interviews
  • Exhibitions
  • Academia
  • Contact
  • About
  • Submit your content
Menu
  • Contact
  • About
  • Submit your content
  • UNITA For Future
Menu
  • UNITA For Future
Search
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter