project
1. The objectives of the project are the development of cultural exchanges and synergies among the different countries,in order to start up and develop together a "European artistic language" which can only be realised with the mutual contribution and exchangeof experiences and ideas of all the countries involved in the project. The cooperation in developing the project should produce a "new European culture" that is REALLY new, in the sense that T.S. Eliot gave to "new in the artistic production" by reprocessing the fundamental ideals which create the modern European identity with all the overlaps and differences raising up. The partnership is pretty aware of the fact that the objectives and results of this project will be better achieved by acting and working at an European level than at local or national level.
2. The activities which will be carried out by the partnership are: regular meetings (we envisage one each four months) among the different partners in order to better work together, build up and monitor each step of the implementation of the opera, cooperation in projecting libretto, scenery, choreography, master classes to prepare the singers and the musicians who will chosen among the best students of the Countries participating in the project to perform contemporary music. In particular IIOP as coordinator of the project will be in charge of the music composition and direction. The Austrian co-organiser will care about the musical direction and the orchestral supervision, the Hungarian partner will put together the different lyrics parts written down by each partner in order to build up the "libretto". The Spanish partner will care about choreographies, sceneries and costumes. Since the polish partner has not been able to provide all the documents required by the application form, it has demonstrate its interest in participating in this project by signing and sending a letter of interest with its commitment in cooperating with the Hungarian co-organiser in the development of the lyrics. IIOP will be in charge also of the overall coordination of the projects and its activities.
3. The activities will take place in Italy, Spain, Poland, HungarY and Austria. Writing the libretto, composing the opera, studying the parts and organizing the direction will take around two years that is why the partnership has identified in 24 month the whole duration of the project. Due to the strong co-operation among the participating partners and the future activities planned, it is foreseen to organise, after the project's ending, a world premiere that could take place in Venice, at La Fenice Opera House, with following performances in Warsaw, Madrid, Budapest, Vienna and in all the most important European cities.
4. Each participating country will be actively involved in the development of an artistic part of the Project as described above in point 2. The regular meetings envisaged have been planned in order to help all the partnership in cooperation towards the realisation of the opera. During the meetings they will have the opportunity to evaluate, discuss and eventually to adjust and put together all the different parts that each one has carried out in its own country according to its own skills and competences as agreed. These meeting have a strategic relevance for the achievement of the objective of the project because the product that will be realised will really become a pan European cultural melting pot-work built up with the contribution of peculiarities and differences of each one tied up by the common "European cultural heritage".
5. The nature and institutional mission of each participation body will help the implementation of the dissemination plan which will be assessed by the partnership during the realisation of the project's activities. In particular one of the most relevant purposes of IIOP is the international promotion or the European cultural heritage as a strategic tool towards multicultural dialogue and comprehension among European citizens. The opera performances which will take place all around Europe will act itself as the most relevant dissemination tool as it spreads messages by "speaking" the common language of music and art and reaching all kind of people. In particular the partnership has already identified some dissemination tools and procedures which can be summarised as follows:
each co-organiser participating in the project will take advantage of its ordinary information and dissemination activities to promote this initiative and to support the organisation and valorisation of the opera in its own country. Moreover, each country belonging to the IIOP international network will benefit from the ordinary dissemination and information activities of the Institute regarding relevant events to be held.
Each co-organiser will dedicate one page of its web-site to the project. The basic idea, the history and the process that has lead to the realisation of the opera will be explained and detailed on the web together with the "libretto", the calendar of the representations around European cities, musical information regarding the opera, the participant artists etc. Special mention will be dedicated to the fact that the opera has been set up thanks to the contribution of the European Commission as an added value to the "European vocation" of the opera itself.
Each co-organiser will dedicate at least one opera representation to the participation of highschools. It is vital to approach young people to a certain kind of music and this opera is strategically important if we think of music and poetry as a training tool for young generations. A melting pot libretto built up with the contribution of different people of different countries in different languages is a cultural vehicle that helps young people meeting and knowing each other in respect of each own differences but with a strong common basis which is the "European belonging".
6. The new idea of "European CULTURE" disseminated by means of a "multicultural opera speaking a European artistic language" will be spread through a huge number of people, reaching the following beneficiaries.
European citizens through the information campaigns and materials which will anticipate and follow the different representation of the opera in the different countries.
Opera and musical public which is normally interested in performances calendars.
Artistic bodies as theatres, managers, cultural associations
Artists (singers, musicians, dancers)
Young people, in particular students from European high schools which will invite to assist to the representations of the opera and to discuss the libretto together.
7. The added value of the co-operation on European level is represented by joining European artistic energies towards a common aim and building up an opera which has not a national character and it is not a simple grouping of five artistic approaches but it is a single common expression of a multicultural approach and contribution. Every single artistic section of the opera (music, lyrics, choreographies, costumes, scenographies) will be the result of a common work carried out by all the partnership.
8. The most relevant long term result is to build up an "EUROPEAN" opera, instead of an Italian one or a Spanish one, or a Hungarian one. This opera will become a strong and relevant tool for European citizens to increase and improve our sense of belongings to one single common culture made up by some fundamental elements of our cultural heritage as opera and poetry which also represent a common language for intercultural dialogue, mobility and exchanges of ideas and people. A melting pot of music, poetry and dance created by different people each one with their own cultural and human contribution could become a training tool in which cultural, linguistic and social barriers have been cut down in a view of a "common European artistic language".
This partnership intends to build up an Opera according to the ancient Greek meaning, an unique expression of different arts as music, European contemporary poetry and dance. By means of this Opera we would like to draw the attention on actual themes as relationships difficulties (difficulties among couples, people, languages, cultures, space/time, thought/action) and the best way to "talk" to different kind of people, cultures and languages is to use the universal language of arts as best and immediate message sender.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE MUSICAL ASPECTS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
The musical aim which isquite innovative (almost a challenge) is to use the poetical suggestions of ive electronics (e.g. the amazing experimentations of NONO) through the merely acoustical use of voices and instruments. As written by Mario Messinis about Ms. Zen composition "Canzona Magnetica": "The composition uses and invents different and new sounds from the instruments
creating a sort of dialogue between instruments and voices in an absolute innovative way".
DRAFT OF THE OPERA
The opera will be based on lyrics of contemporary European poets reprocessing the fundamental ideals which create the modern European identity with all the overlaps and differences raising up. The opera will use lead singers, small chorus, camera orchestra, young dancers and visual arts contributions of different European contemporary artists: all these elements will tend to a common ideal unification of the performance. The lyrics will be assembled in one "libretto" in order to generate innovative meanings and poetical new associations from different cultures.
