THE DREAM (أي شمس تشرق وتبقى في موضع الشروق) (2021-2022)
Chamber opera for two abroad sextets (sop, mezzo, bar, vln, b. cl, pn / sop, mezzo, bar, fl, oud, cello) – ca. 40 min
Concept & music by Wajdi Abou Diab
Arabic libretto by Zuhair Ghazali
English translation by Haneen El-Nakouzi
Animation by Shawqi Berro
Illustration by Mohammad El Alloush
Commissioned by Puccini chamber opera festival and theatre of Giglio
The Dream
أَيُّ شَمْسٍ تُشْرِقُ وتَمْكُثُ في مَوْضِعِ الشّروقِ؟
“What sun sets and remains where it rises?”
from the libretto
The title: “The Dream”
A change is always beginning with a dream, as in this opera, the whole story starts with a dream, and once the dream starts, the conflict begins within us between our reality and our dream, and then nothing can return to what it was before.
The Opera
The whole opera is inspired by the Greek/ Phoenician Myth “The kidnap of Europe”, highlighting the inner desire of every character for fulfilling his own dream, and changing its reality. A nonstop struggle between dream and reality, sacrifice and selfishness, love and affiliation… and each character has its own way to express this conflict depending on its background, social post, and personality.
And to portray this duality in a scene, the opera is divided into two chapters, performed in dual languages (Arabic and English), by two sextets of singers/musicians, one in Lebanon, and the second in Europe, and streamed at the same time for two audiences in these two different countries that differ in their traditions, costumes, social system, and native spoken languages.
And note that this opera was the first Lebanese opera produced in Italy.
Concept
Through this opera, we try to embody the internal conflict resulting from the desire to achieve our dreams, and at the same time our fear of disengaging from the reality we live in, which must break the relationship with it, in order to proceed toward the realization of these dreams. We can see the duality of personalities present in all scenes and in all characters, and we live the evolution in these personalities and how one triumphs over another, and the inevitability of the impact of the ideas we dream on the course of our lives and the lives of those around us from family and friends, and even the environment that is not necessarily directly related to us.
The story
The opera starts with Oropa (daughter of Agenor, the king of Saidon) dreaming about two women trying by turn to convince her to go with them, then while she promenades on the shores of Tyre, Zeus (the king of the gods), falls in love with her, and kidnaps her after he has turned himself into a white bull and tempted her to ride him. Then he takes her to Krit where they marry and give birth to three children.
And after Aginore (Europe’s father) know what has happened, he sends his wife Telephassa together with his sons to search for his daughter, and after a long period of searching in the Greek islands, they give up, then the mother dies from her sadness, and the brothers make their own kingdoms far from their homeland.
Characters
- Lebanese Europa (Soprano)
- European Europa (Soprano)
- Zeus – The God-lover (Baritone)
- Telephassa – Mother of Oropa (Mezzo)
- Aphrodite – Goddess of Love (Mezzo)
- Aginore – Father of Oropa (Baritone)
Ensemble
- Oud (Lebanon)
- Flute (Lebanon)
- Cello (Lebanon)
- Bass Clarinet (Europe)
- Violin (Europe)
- Piano (Europe)
- Sound designer/video (Lebanon/Europe)
Structure
- Overture
Ensemble, singers - Scene 1 – The Dream
Two mezzos, and Ensemble (Telephassa, Afrodite) - Scene 2 – Oropa at the shores
Two sopranos, and Ensemble (Oropa. Europe) - Scene 3 – Zeus Aria
Baritone, and Ensemble (Zeus) - Scene 4 – Seducing Oropa
Soprano, Baritone, and Ensemble (Oropa, Zeus) - Scene 5 – The kidnap of Oropa
Two sopranos, and Ensemble (Oropa, Europe) - Intermezzo – Love theme
Ensemble - Scenes 6 & 7 happen together
– Scene 6: The marriage of Europe
Soprano, Baritone, and Ensemble (Zeus, Europe)
– Scene 7: The family
Mezzo, Baritone, and Ensemble (Aginore, Telephassa) - Scene 8 – Thelephassa aria
Mezzo, and Ensemble (Telephassa) - Scene 9 – Afrodite aria
Mezzo, and Ensemble (Afrodite)
In the press
Puccini Chamber Opera Festival – 21 maggio ore 17 al Teatro San Girolamo
Si conclude il sesto ‘Puccini Chamber Opera Festival’
Media gallery
Pictures from the premiere during Puccini Chamber Opera festival 2022, “TWO DIMENSIONAL WORK”
May 21, 2022 – Saint Girolamo Theater
Girolamo Deraco, artistic director
Manuel Del Ghingaro, directed (Italy)
Zeinab Mawassi, directed (Lebanon)
Rebecca El Khoury, Soprano
Lara jokhadar, Soprano
Molham Khalaf, Bariton
Kevork kichichian, Flute
Samir Naserdin, Oud
Sary Khalifeh, Cello
Charbel Barq, sound engineer
Felicita Brusoni, soprano
Valeria Matrosova, soprano
Francesco Lombardi, bariton
Nancy Parra, violin
Elia Bianucci, bass clarinet
Petro Yanchuk, piano
Alberto Gatti, sound designer
PUCCINI Chamber Opera Festival organized by the Lucca contemporary music association CLUSTER together with the Teatro del Giglio and in collaboration with: Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, Fondazione Giacomo Puccini, Fondazione Franco Zeffirelli, Scuola di Musica Sinfonia, EMA Vinci Produzioni discografiche, editoriali ed artistiche, Lucca Classica Music Festival, Conservatorio “Giuseppe Verdi” di Ravenna (Master II Livello Canto – Musica vocale e Teatro musicale del novecento e contemporaneo – Alda Caiello), Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “Luigi Boccherini” (Classe di direzione d’orchestra – Giampaolo Mazzoli), Liceo Artistico Musicale e Coreutico “Augusto Passaglia”.
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