Clown(s)

I like clowns. They are on the margins of the artistic world, but at the centre of how we explore the human condition. Despite my ambivalent relationship to circus, I have always been fascinated by traveling entertainers from all around the world and throughout history – artists who arrive in a community, perform, and leave again in search of somewhere new to set up camp. My initial inspirations were the book Masques et bouffons by Maurice Sand and the Federico Fellini film I clowns. I then consulted my brilliant colleague Mariella Pandolfi, whose insights paved the way for the creation of this piece. Like a favola in musica or musical fable, Clown(s) explores a clown’s life cycle through the full gamut of human emotions – joy, love, fear, anger, surprise, sadness. Through perpetual shifting tableaux, filled with energy and exuberance, I have created a Baroque fresco of an opera, one that combines all my artistic passions: puppets, shadows, acrobatics, and an abundance of Balkan rhythms and effects. Both cinema and opera are quintessential total art forms. Although cinema may have taken centre stage a century ago, it is now my turn to draw inspiration from innovations in the art of film: Fellini’s underdogs, Keaton’s ingenious burlesque, Chaplin’s tragicomic humanity, the rhythmic absurdity of Tati, and the rich imaginations of Robin Williams or Jerry Lewis.

Clown(s) is gratefully dedicated to Mariella Pandolfi. - Ana Sokolović

• conductor: Bruno Ferrandis
• stage design: David Bazika