VISUAL OPERA
A Visual Opera in Three Movements
Since its creation in 1993, Operation:Orfeo has become one of Hotel Pro Forma’s seminal works and a modern classic of contemporary performance. Based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it replaces conventional operatic storytelling with a powerful sequence of images, movement, light and symphonic singing.
Rather than retelling the myth directly, Kirsten Dehlholm divides the work into three movements — descent, ascent and loss. A monumental staircase fills a framed stage, appearing alternately as a two-dimensional image and as an infinite space. Performers move through this constantly shifting landscape of light and shadow, depth and surface, creating a visual composition that evokes the myth without ever illustrating it.
The Latvian Radio Choir performs Ib Michael’s sensuous libretto as symphonic a cappella singing, alongside music by Bo Holten, with excerpts from John Cage and Christoph Willibald Gluck. The music and movement exist in parallel, creating a hypnotic and immersive experience rather than a conventional narrative.
At the heart of the work is the moment when Orpheus loses Eurydice forever: a wave of green laser light floods the stage and gradually overwhelms the singers and the auditorium. Operation:Orfeo remains a striking exploration of love, death, memory and the limits of perception — and a defining example of Hotel Pro Forma’s fusion of visual art, music and performance.
Running time: 80 minutes, no interval.
CREDITS
Conductor Kaspars Putnins
Solo singer Baiba Berke
Solo dancer Lisbeth Sonne Andersen
Vocal ensemble Latvian Radio Choir (12 singers)
Concept, direction Kirsten Dehlholm
Music, composition & arrangement Bo Holten
Music, excerpts John Cage, Christoph Willibald, Gluck
Libretto Ib Michael
Set design & light concept Maja Ravn
Light design & light concept Jesper Kongshaug
Costumes Annette Meyer
Choreography for solo dancer Anita Saij
Sound design Kristian Hverring
Dramaturgy Claus Lynge
photos © Roberto Fortuna