Ist das Oper oder kann das weg?

Several tables, packed with dishes, glasses, stuff and junk. Is that art or can it be thrown away? Here, trivial things come to life and tell an ambiguous story with an absurd ending. A mini-drama that unfolds at the kitchen table. Curtain up and join in! Ist das Oper oder kann das weg? (eng. Is that Opera or can it be thrown away?) is a music theatre education project in response format.

Inspired by the contemporary music theatre piece L’opera (forse) (eng. The maybe opera) by the Italian composer Francesco Filidei (with a libretto by Pierre Senges), several teams of students work on their own visions and versions of a ‘table and pocket opera’ in which everyday objects become musical instruments or scenic characters. Six classes from Styrian secondary schools develop their own ideas of what art is and what can be ‘left out’ based on Filidei’s anti-opera. The students learn to apply their practical skills creatively by working in groups, with each group making an independent contribution to the overall performance. The project uses the potential of opera as a multidisciplinary art form: just as many trades come together in the theatre, the students implement their own ideas for Filidei’s piece in an interdisciplinary way: texts, costumes and scenography, alternative dramaturgies and their own musical compositions for new scenes.

A team of experts in music and theatre education, together with members of Schallfeld, is developing a workshop concept in collaboration with teachers from several Styrian secondary and vocational schools that is tailored to the respective classes and school situations and takes into account the abilities of the students and their respective specialisations (craftsmanship, music, visual arts). A total of three schools with two classes each will be involved. The results will be part of several concerts by the Schallfeld Ensemble, in which both the original and the new perspectives will be presented. The low-threshold encounter with contemporary art and opera will spark curiosity about cultural activities. At the same time, contemporary music will be made more accessible. The original setup of L’opera (forse) serves as the starting point in the workshops for new instruments as well as for writing and composing one’s own scenes. Everyday objects (bottles, cutlery, crockery…) become a creative field of experimentation for making sound generators or scenic objects. In addition, the question arises: Could there be other twists instead of the tragic ending in Filidei? The project promotes interdisciplinary engagement with music and theatre while also providing a creative approach to sustainability, as everyday materials and ‘junk’ are upcycled to become components of a musical theatre production.

Filidei’s piece shows in a congenial way how the seemingly irreconcilable can come together: how poetry can arise from trash, how kitchen Latin can be combined with profound philosophy, and how music can be created from everyday gestures and objects. At the same time, L’opera (forse) offers a broad framework for reflection through its multi-layered themes. The opera’s format, in which an unlikely love story between a fish and a bird ends tragically – both end up as a banquet on Filidei’s table – makes it possible to talk about serious topics such as social exclusion and unequal friendships in a witty, poetic and ironic way. Ist das Oper oder kann das weg? invites young people to bring their own social and future designs onto the stage in a poetic way. The project is made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. 

More info: office (at) schallfeldensemble.com