An immersing experience capable of transporting you to an alternative reality, were fear of pandemic dissolves by an aquatic study.
It's saturday night, November 14th, 2020 at the OPERA WATER. I was invited to the event by one of the many characters you encountered through your journey at this immersive experience, Natasha aka Miss a flight. I remember the feeling of overwhelming inspiration and lamenting more friends couldn't come see the spectacle (this it was closing night).
Дуна sits in front of a table as a fortune teller in the corner of a blue room, revealed slowly through the mist. She'll ask you about the water state you wish: gas, cold, frozen, hot.
She serves you a short as desired and then declares a beautiful statement before you drink it. At this moment I felt my organs were compromised with this capsule experience.
After the performance ended, I had the opportunity to ask this mystical creature called Дуна about the show and here's what she said:
"It began with the laboratory at the CIM in Meirhold, 2 years ago for playwrights, composers and directors. Boris Lesnoy came up with the idea of playing music on the water and making a performance out of splashes of water. Lisa Shostakova conducted research and compiled a text reflecting scientific data about water. Then there was the brusfest festival in the new Tretyakov Gallery, where Boris invited me to help him solve the space, back then, there were only 3 participants and the performance lasted only 15 minutes, it was more like a choir, but not yet a performance."
The memories of Sleep No More were pleasantly woken. Back in New York around late 2011, I felt the same buzz in my body, while exploring the McKittrick Hotel on 27th street for the first of several times.
The fact that Opera Water happened during the pandemic, gave this show an extra layer of surrealism. All guests are wearing masks which distinguishes us from the performers.
The mansion is filled with people I think I know which talks greatly about the accuracy of targeting.
As we explored the two floors, activities are unfolding in front of our senses. From the feeling of floaty slipperiness you get while walking through the specially treated floors, to the ever evolving soundscapes, carefully and masterfully crafted, the crowd is deeply hooked. Our spectator personas are playing a role we all seem to know well.
The event's social channels have teased a possible continuation. I'm looking forward to what they'll do next.
Here are a few photos from the night.
Information on the Performance
Opera: Opera Water
Composer / Director: Lesnoy Boris
Libretto: Dunya Frankshtein
Playwright: Liza Shestakova
Choreographer: Sasha Vetrova
Costume Designer: Vartan Martynya
Plumber, Conductor, Charon: Mikhail Levin
Naiada: Maria Shimchuk
Chorus: Eva Tardes, Alexandra Podolskaya, Anastasia Rossokhina, Evgeniya Grieber, Vera Ter-Gabrielyan, Polina Revis, Natalia Dubovik, Evgeniya Karavaitseva
Orchestra: Anna Sokolova (flute), Roman Komlev (contrabass)