The 2,400-year-old Book of Mountains and Seas forms the setting for Ars Nova Copenhagen's spectacular embrace of Chinese creation myths.
Singers and puppeteers jointly evoke a mythological world with both sunbirds, demons and hairy giants, and the themes of the myths are interpreted in four tableaux with visual and musical means.
The Chinese composer Huang Ruo has been called ‘one of the world's leading young composers’ and has, among other things, been ‘composer in residence’ at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer, but in his highly acclaimed performances he also works with numerous other media, including the manipulation of silk fabrics.
Co-production between The Royal Opera, Ars Nova Copenhagen and three international partners.
Supported by the Statens Kunstfond, the Augustinus Foundation and A.P. Møller Foundation. Production in Copenhagen: Ars Nova Copenhagen and Beth Morrison Projects. Touring to Hong Kong, USA, Canada and the Netherlands, among others.
The Book of Mountains and Seas is sung in Chinese with Chinese and English supertitles.
Cast:
12 singers from Ars Nova Copenhagen, two percussion players, six puppet masters
Conductor: Paul Hillier
Staging and set design: Basil Twist
Lighting design: Ayumu Poe Saegusa
