KEPLER – chamber opera
- libretto: Maciej Papierski
- year: 2014
- lenght: 30′
- instrumentation: voices: soprano and baritone + ensemble: flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, 2 percussions, hammond organ, strings
- premiere: 4.04.2014 – Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw;
- 05.2019 – Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw; Chopin University Modern Ensemble, Ignacy Zalewski – conductor, Maria Wądołowska – soprano, Michał Przygoński – baritone;
- 04.2014 – Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw; Ensemblage group of instrumentalists, Marcin Piotr Łopacki – conductor, Aleksandra Klimczak – soprano, Dawid Dubec – baritone;
- 06.2014 – National Theatre in Miskolc (Hungary); Covacs Csilla – soprano, Antoni Norbert – baritone, Tunde Turanyi – piano;
- 06.2014 – National Theatre in Miskolc; Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, Tamas Tsurgo – conductor, Covacs Csilla – soprano, Antoni Norbert – baritone,
written to libretto by Maciej Papierski.
Lingering in its dreamy overtones, the “Kepler” Opera, is a metaphorical tale of the illusive nature of utopian intentions – a tale of the escape from the burden of memory and the desire for new beginnings. Drawing vastly from the impressionist genre, this game of lights and colours, takes on the form of fleeting, musical vision. The storyline is based on the biblical description of the paradise serenity of the first people, and as such it is meant to reflect on our dormant desires to form the world according to our own plans, and our responsibility against nature and the past.
Scene 1
Adam and Eve land on Kepler. Miring at the mysterious beauty of the planet, they reminisce over the Earth in its demise – the Earth from which they have fled. Their old world has perished, and the new one seems to be a reward. They gaze enthusiastically at the mystical extraordinariness of nature, comparing it with the hardships of earthly life. Kepler seems to be a paradise, governed by the laws of a dream, and where the man is free from any worries. The protagonists wish to shape their new reality according to their own imagination, which is buzzing with creative hopes, leaving their earthly identity completely behind.
Scene 2
Looking for a place to rest, they come across a mysterious cave. The spirit of this place inspires Eve to reminisce over the past; suddenly, all the surroundings seem to be speaking of what they have left on Earth. The shadows on the walls and the brook flowing through the cave grow murky with disturbing visions. Eve begins to understand that even the most beautiful of all lands cannot offer up shelter from one mighty power – the power of memory. Adam is trying to console and appease her, speaking to her of the prospects of happiness and joy derived from the shaping of the world they would both pursue.. However, Eve can see with increasing clarity that she will never be happy in this open, empty land – and more importantly, that she will never be free from what has already happened. Yearning for the past and sorrow overpower her.
Scene 3
This scene constitutes a deconstruction of the constructed image, while providing a summary of the message that the opera
hopes to convey. Dark clouds gather above Adam and Eve. The ensuing rain causes a breakdown of this ephemeral world, which turns out to be but a dream and a utopian desire. It is a metaphorical confrontation with the man’s lack of self-sufficiency, as well as with the illusory nature of certain aspirations, but, perhaps above all, with the necessity of taking care of this one and only, real world, which is given to us. Awoken from the deceptive reality of their dream, Adam and Eve enter the state of waking, with which they ultimately reconcile themselves.