Silvia Costa's Operatic and Theatrical Visions Converge in 2022

Italian director Silvia Costa presents a cluster of productions across Europe in early 2022, including Beckett's 'Comédie' at the Festival d'Automne in Paris, Vivaldi's 'Juditha triumphans' at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, and premieres of 'Like Flesh' by Sivan Eldar and Cordelia Lynn at the Opéra de Lille and 'Julie' by Philippe Boesmans at the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy. Costa's work is characterized by a physical, dreamlike theatre of thought, blending music, dance, and visual art. In 'La Femme au marteau', inspired by composer Galina Oustvolskaïa, she uses six monologues and a bed as a central motif to explore primal expression. For 'Comédie', she transforms Beckett's minimalism into a maximalist ballet, adding a second part titled 'Wry smile Dry sob' with choreography and sound by Nicola Ratti. In 'Like Flesh', adapted from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' through a queer ecological lens, Costa employs artificial intelligence to generate video projections, collaborating with artist-researcher Francesco D'Abbraccio. Her staging of 'Juditha triumphans' features an all-female cast, reinterpreting the oratorio as a ritual of liberation, while 'Julie' draws on Strindberg and Boesmans to explore class and gender through dance and ghostly presence. Costa reflects on her past collaboration with Romeo Castellucci, emphasizing the importance of remaining childlike and open to surprise.