I first heard the music of Greek (living and working mostly in France) composer Georges Aperghis at the Soundscape new music festival in 2015. I got hooked. I programmed some of his music with Forest Collective in 2016 and have followed his activities since.
He sits in this fantastic place of contemporary music, working a lot in theatre works (in what is often called Music Theatre, not to be confused with Musical Theatre…) , with both acoustic and electronic instruments in a sound world that has always struck me as being sophisticated and well crafted, but also sensuous, dramatic, theatrical and at times almost camp. There are moments of nonsense, sections that need a twinkle in their eye and a sense of theatre and fun.
This work, however, is very much a serious endeavour. It explores security and surveillance, through the performance by 4 people, two playing bass and contra-bass flutes and two actors. What I loved about this work is it walks the line between abstract interpretation of surveillance (and how that could be interpreted and reshaped by 4 performers on stage, with the various video, audio and lighting supports to enhance the performance) and literal ideas of surveillance. It isn’t just a story or set of images unfolding in front of you, or a series of morals into the issues or advantages of surveillance of society. It covers a wide range of feelings and emotional high points, sometimes silly, sometimes banal and dull, sometimes anxious and fearful. It was a fascinating work in that respect as it had a highly sophisticated emotional integration. Sections flowed by with ease, and my eye and ear took in a wild ride of different emotional high points. The issues I took with the experience were more cosmetic. Couldn’t there be some slight suggestion of the experience we are having. What I mean is, the experience came across more like a concert then a piece of theatre. The structure of the set and presentation of the performers (that is costume, engagement with audience etc) made it quite static. The video provided intrigue, and depth to the emotional pull of the music, but the presentation was very much caught in a traditional theatrical experience, which was a shame considering the variety and originality of the content. In our opera club meeting we spoke about it potentially having dance as an element, or being part of an installation or heightening the performance experience slightly with costuming and a more heightened audience experience. This made me think about New Music, and how it can be almost too reverential, cold and austere, or as is the case with this performance, self deprecating and casual. Say what you will about traditional opera, or should I said mainstream opera (or theatre) but you always know that you are in a space dedicated to providing you with an emotional (and intellectual) experience. In my work I aim to create a sense of wonder, delight and drama, while also, hopefully, being thought provoking and philosophical. I had high hopes for this piece, due to my love of the cheeky and capricious music of Aperghis. I’m not saying this work didn’t enthral me, it certainly did, but the presentation of it could have been more heightened to remind me I’m in a theatre, witnessing something with variety, depth, humour, emotion and politics.
There is a great interview with GA, as well as the link to the full video of the performance available here.