Aura

Aura was the first music theatre co-production by Musik der Jahrhunderte Stuttgart, Operadhoy Madrid and the Biennale di Venezia Musica. In past years these three institutions have intensified their focus on contemporary music and were endeavouring to expand their repertoire of experimental music theatre.
This piece is based on the erotically charged novella Aura by Carlos Fuentes (*1928), one of the most influential Mexican writers today. While investigating the legacy of a deceased general, the historian Felipe meets his widow and her young niece Aura. As the story progresses, the characters become less and less distinguishable until their identities merge. The boundary between imagination and reality begins to dissolve.
With experimental élan, the Spanish composer José-María Sánchez-Verdú has written a score that portrays the thrilling and psychologically complex nature of the narrative. He has designed a new musical instrument especially for this piece called an "Auraphone" - a type of electronic-instrumental installation that responds to the characters' actions on stage, and thus became a protagonist itself. The piece was directed by the Norwegian theatre director Susanne Øglænd.

Artistic director: Christine Fischer
Composer and conductor: José-Maria Sánchez-Verdú (E)
Director: Susanne Øglænd (NO)
Set and costume designer: Mascha Mazur
Artists: Neue Vocalsolisten, Sarah Maria Sun, Truike van de Poel (NL), Andreas Fischer, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin

Venues and schedule:
Teatro Zarzuela, Madrid: 30-31 May 2009
Theaterhaus, Stuttgart: 17-18 July 2009
Piccolo Teatro / Biennale di Venezia: 1 Oct. 2009