Bitef

REČ SELEKTORA

Posle velikog uspeha ostvarenog na 50. Bitefu - specijalne nagrade žirija i nagrade publike, francuski reditelj Žoris Lakost ponovo je na našem festivalu, i to na njegovom otvaranju. Posle Svite br 2 sad je na redu, logidno, Svita br. 3, koja ima I dodatnu odrednicu - Evropa. Upravo ta odrednica precizno odreduje temu ove veoma originalne muzičke predstave: presek stanja u svim zemljama-članicama Evropske unije, kada je red upravo o poštovanju „evropskih vrednosti", Kao I raniji projekti Žorisa Lakosta iz ovog ciklusa, I Svita br. 3 ‘Evropa' zasniva se na njegovom istraživačkom projektu Enciklopedija reči, on-line arhivi bezbrojnih, sasvim raznovrsnih audio-zapisa, u rasponu od politidkih govora do sludajnih razgovora na ulici. Kompozicija ove svite vrlo je jednostavna, stroga i transparentna, gotovo klasicistidka: na sceni se nalaze samo koncertni klavir, pijanista i dvoje pevada koji izvode jedan, u osnovi, statidni muzidki resital sastavljen od 28 numera, koji se s vremenom koreografski razigrava, usložnjava i oneobidava. Svaka od numera ovog resitala svodi se na po jedan audio-zapis iz svake zemlje Evropske unije, peva se na jeziku te zemIje, dok tematski izoštrava - bez obzira da II je u pitanju govor u parlamentu ili amaterski You Tube rad - neku od ozbiljnih opasnosti s kojima se danas suodava evropski projekat: desni populizam, ksenofobija, netrpeljivost prema Jevrejima i izbeglicama iz muslimanskih zemaIja, autoritarne vlasti, kapitalizam u najsirovijem vidu... Vrlo duhovita, lišena moralisanja, patetike i ideološkog dociranja, Svita br 3 ‘Evropa’ je pametna, racionalna i rafinirana dijagnoza skretanja evropskih društava udesno i, kao takva, ona, na samom podetku, jasno postavlja tematsku liniju 52. Bitefa,

CURATORS’ WORD

After the big success at 50 th Bitef - the special jury prize and the audience prize - the French director Jobs Lacoste is at our festival again, and what is more, at its very grand opening. What comes after Suite N°2 is, logically, Suite N°3, which bears an additional description - Europe. This addition precisely defines the topic of this truly original music performance: an overview of the situation in all the EU member states when it comes to their respect of the “European values". Like previous Joris Lacoste’s projects in this series, Suite N°3: Europe’ is based on his research project Encyclopedia de la parole , an on-line archive of endless and very varied audio recordings which range from political speeches to random street conversations. The composition of this suite is quite simple, strict and transparent, almost classicist even. On the stage, there is only a concert piano, a pianist and two singers who perform a basically static music recital consisting of 28 scores. Yet it slowly becomes choreographically more complex, more developed, and more estranged. Each score is reduced to one audio recording from each of the member states, it is sung in the state's official language, while thematically focusing - regardless of whether it is a speech in the parliament or an amateur You Tube recording - on some of the grave dangers the European project is facing today: right-wing populism, xenophobia, intolerance to Jews and refugees from Muslim countries, authoritarian regimes, capitalism in its rawest form... Utterly witty, stripped of any moralization, pathetic quality or ideological instruction. Suite N°3: Europe’ is a smart, rational, and refined diagnosis of European societies taking the right turn and, as such, it defines the 52 nd Bitef theme right from the start.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

In 2013, the Encyclopedia de la parole initiated a cycle of four "Choral Suites” all based on the same principle: the live reproduction of audio-documents taken from the Encyclopedic de la parole's collection. As with Suite N° 7 and Suite N°2, these speeches are faithfully reenacted by two performers in order to render their oral dimension and all their melodic, rhythmic, intensive and timbral nuances. Re-enacting them is a way to make their reality audible whilst transposing them into the fictional setting of a theatre. Condescending sermons, safety instructions, embarrassing claims, verbal abuse, monologues of solitude, police brutality,

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