This spring sees two exciting premieres exploring how we communicate. Two young composers investigate the distance between how we see ourselves and how others perceive us. The two chamber operas are presented as a double bill at Bergen International Festival in May 2020.

Bergen National Opera in collaboration with the Icelandic Opera have commissioned these two half-hours operas, engaging composer Peder Barratt-Due (born 1993) from Norway and Icelandic composer Bára Gísladóttir (born 1989). The composers have been mentored by a superb international team: Czech composer Ondrej Adamek, director Sjaron Minailo, dramaturg/librettist Krystian Lada and music director Stephen Higgins.

Bára Gísladóttir's exaudi is a musical exploration through five short stories reflecting on different problems faced by humanity today (such as climate change and anxiety) and how these issues effect the human psyche. The composer uses operatic lines, surreal sounds, fragmented text, spoken narrative along with experimental instrumental utterances.

Peder Barratt-Due's Language is a skin is inspired by Roland Barthes book "A Lovers Discourse: Fragments". The opera examines how personal relationships operate in our current world where individuals are overloaded with information and data: the more we feel we know, the more we are anxious about the unknown, and of what others are thinking about us.

Both works are scored for two singers (soprano and tenor) and six musicians (violin, violoncello, clarinet, flute, percussion and piano). After it's world premiere in Bergen the performance will travel directly to Europe's most important festival for new music drama, Operadagen Rotterdam (27th of May 2020), and later to Dark Music Days (Myrkir músíkdagar) in Reykjavik 2022.

Update spring 2020: Due to Covid-19 the world premiere for Future Opera at Bergen International Festival (Festspillene i Bergen) as well as the performance at Operadagen Rotterdam this year are CANCELLED.

exaudi
Music and text:
Bára Gísladóttir

Language is a skin
Music:
Peder Barratt-Due
Text:
Peder Barratt-Due,
inspired by Roland Barthes

Singers
Nika Gorič, soprano
Daniel Norman, tenor

Musicians
Pétur Björnsson, violin
Zoë Martlew, violoncello
George Sleightholme, clarinet
Björg Brjánsdóttir, flute
Jennifer Torrence, percussion
Elena Postumi, piano

Creative team
Stephen Higgins, musical director
Sjaron Minailo, director and set designer
Patricia Hofstede, costume designer

Presented by Bergen National Opera and Íslenska óperan in collaboration with Bergen International Festival.