DENIS & KATYA
Riverfront Theatre, Newport, Thurs 27 Feb; Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Tue 3 Mar; Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff, Fri 27 Mar
A new opera is a precious rarity, and this one brings the art form into the 21st century, inspired by a harrowing real-life story. Denis & Katya is a chamber opera filtered through the lens of social media, voyeurism, real-time response and fake news. It recounts the final days of Denis Muravyov and Katya Vlasova, two troubled 15-year-old Russian teenagers fleeing from apparently abusive families. Reports viewed them as part Romeo and Juliet, part Bonnie and Clyde when, in 2016, they ran away to Katya’s stepfather’s house and began a three-day stand-off and firefight with Russian Special Forces that ended in their own suicides.
What composer Philip Venables and writer-director Ted Huffman have tapped into, in their true crime docu-opera, is that Denis and Katya livestreamed, posted and Instagrammed about their final days to friends and, subsequently, anyone else online who was interested. This devastating video footage was watched, rightly or wrongly, by masses of internet users. The story runs rich with the poetic tragedy of classic operatic tales but is made uncomfortably immediate through the dual setting of the text (both spoken and sung), projected social media posts and the dispassionate beeps and clicks of modern technology. But, as the story reaches its truly tragic ending, expect the humanism and passion of operatic writing to soar above the cold, clinical social media setting. This unique mix of text, video and theatre led the opera to be awarded the prestigious Fedora – Generali Prize for Opera in 2019.
Co-produced and co-commissioned by Music Theatre Wales, Opera Philadelphia and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, its UK premiere will be performed at Newport’s Riverfront, before touring to Mold, Aberystwyth, London and finally Cardiff. It has already enjoyed a world premiere in the USA, as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19. Scored for two singers and an ensemble of four cellos, the music is stark and brooding, keeping the tension full-throttle throughout this one-act, 70-minute production. Starring mezzo-soprano Emily Edmonds and baritone Johnny Herford, the UK performances are in association with the London Sinfonietta. JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
Tickets: £10-£25. Info: www.musictheatre.wales