From poetry and imagination, Martha Eguiliorstage director, decided to address a delicate issue like the one denounced by the opera Beatrix Cencisince representing violent events could be practically unsustainable for the public’s emotion.
From the composer Alberto Ginasterathe production will premiere this October 13 at the Palace of Fine Arts with the participation of the National Opera Companyas well as the Orchestra and Choir of the Fine Arts Theater.
It is a somewhat dark script, which talks about the history of Beatrix Cenci, a young woman born in Rome in 1577, who was a victim of his father’s abuseCount Francesco Cenci. Years later she along with her brother planned the murder of her predator, but were sentenced to death in Piazza del Popolo.
The story has been romanticized in various artistic works, although Beatrix’s life reflects deep suffering “and The saddest thing is that incest and rape still happen today”, lamented Marta Eguilior, set designer, playwright, actress, visual artist and opera stage director.
In interview with MILLENNIUMsays that if this production had not been scheduled before at the Palace of Fine Arts, it is because in Mexico it is customary to present operas from the repertoire “I don’t think there is any other reason”.
A before and after
The Spanish director assures that it is a fantastic staging, set in the Victorian era but only in the changing rooms, since the story has scenographic anachronisms, that is how she wanted to conceptualize it in order to raise awareness, in a certain way, to the viewer.
Eguilior says that There will be an actress, who will be Beatrix’s double, with enormous dramatic skills to be able to accompany the scenes that are really very strong or very intimate.
“The work does not have to be really situated, I I have chosen the Victorian era for a mere aesthetic reason. I think it was a time when the woman was very covered in terms of her outfits, neither her wrists nor her ankles could be seen, much less her neck. “It seemed very interesting to me to address the fragility of women through that aesthetic.”
“I think there won’t be any problem because the moment the audience enters the opera they make a theatrical pact.” between what you know there will be and what you receive. We know that those people are singing and yet we believe in what they are telling us, that is why I consider that It just has to be an act of faith.“.
This story is tragic, how will it be read today?
It is not only incest, it is rape, it is a story that talks about abuse and no matter how much there are laws that currently punish this crime, it continues to be committed.
Thanks to art, What we can achieve is to raise awareness of this type of aggression in a much greater way. It may be that, among our viewers, there are some abused people, and perhaps if we show the pain and harshness of those acts, we can prevent someone who is considering it, from not doing it, from stopping.
So there is a message of awareness?
Of course, I think that in art there should always be. That’s why we dedicate ourselves to this. Society evolves hand in hand with culture, it has always been like this.
How do you expect the public to receive this opera at its premiere in Mexico?
I would love it to be a before and after in the opera in Mexicosince it is a work not only for the regular opera audience or for music lovers, but also for the audience that loves theater or dance, because we also have choreography and theatrical parts.
Why will it be a before and after?
Because we meet an opera that has a lot of strength in terms of the musical part, it is very expressionist, and I don’t think anything like this has been heard here in recent years, nor that a staging like this has been seen. I invite the public to check it out, since it will leave no one indifferent. The art is creating things that stir the viewer, that make them think, whether they like it or not, that when they leave the theater, they are different.
“People will enjoy the aesthetics, scenery and costumes, where they will discover elements of the work of the French sculptor Louise Bourgeois, who represents her mother as a giant spider titled Mom. You will see it in different elements in scenery.
“Then, for example, Bourgeois made several sculptures with eyes as a central theme, and those eyes will also be on the painted curtain of Beatrixan opera that premiered in 1971 in Washington, and I thought it was interesting to use it as a nod to Ginastera. There is also the presence of a group of boys who, let’s say, would be like the slaves of Count Francesco Cenci. I was inspired by the Marquis de Sade novel and the film The 120 days of Sodomby Paolo Pasolini to show that individuals with money and without scruples buy people and do with them what they want.”
The opera Beatrix Cenci will offer performances on days October 13, 15, 17 and 20 in the Main Room of the Palace of Fine Arts.
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