Falling Awake arouses attention and debate at the international opera conference in Rotterdam
Lasse Schwanenflügel Piasecki was the tenth and last composer to present his work. He presented “Falling Awake” through video excerpts as well as a brief summary of the work. Some of the reactions to the presentation were hard-hitting and the criticism was directed towards the theme of the opera, which is about oppression primarily expressed through a story about incest. It was questioned whether a white male composer can portray the mistreatment of a young girl. Others felt offended by the composer insisting on aestheticizing the assault with beautiful and entertaining music, instead of, as is more common, morallytaking the audience by the hand with music depicting the sufferings. A caricature of Chinese people is taking place in the opera when the composer instructs the audience to wear yellow masks and sing along on the cruel exploitation - this was also provoking for some in the audience.
Photo by Louise Eriksen. Scenography by Jannie Rask De Vitt
For Lasse Schwanenflügel Piasecki and Edition·S, the reactions were unexpectedly agitated and in great contrast to the positive reviews and response that the opera received when it was premiered in Denmark in 2017.
Some of the reviews at the time read: “Moreover, the plot in which elements are described here is not suitable for retelling. It is double-bound and ambiguous and, as far as I understand, also seeks to keep the moral categorization of the depicted events open.” Seismograf wrote and praised the work: “It is a strong work, and it was a strong performance that opened the Klang Festival. With its strong conceptualistic features, it is also a work of today.”
“Falling Awake is food for thought,” the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote. “As a work of art Falling Awake is highly successful – both disconcerting and clever. Life is a spinning wheel, and not everyone can win, but many newcomers to contemporary music are likely to get a surprisingly substantial and moving experience from spending an hour in the dark with the characters of Falling Awake.”
Another Danish newspaper, Information, also brought a full-page review of the “bleak yet beautiful opera on incest and other perversions”. The reviewer praised Schwanenflügel Piasecki’s simple compositions and concluded that Falling Awake showed “great artistic coherence” and that it “thanks to its aesthetics manages to confront a taboo in a moving way”.
Photo by Alexander Banck-Petersen, KLANG 2017. Scenography by Jannie Rask De Vitt
At the Music Theatre NOW conference, the presentation of the opera generated a discussion that also went beyond the opera in question, An important discussion about the opportunity for artists to speak on behalf of those who cannot. A task that comes with an obligation to handle this responsibility with a sincere respect for the persons or issues portrayed. The discussion turned to topics as preserving artists’ right to freedom of speech versus censorship, democratic values and the challenges of the increasing political correctness. Furthermore, the discussion was sparked by the question of what art should and can do, and how we can protect it - we who believe in art.
Photo: Salih Kilic, MTN 2019.
Music Theatre NOW · Jury Statement:
"In the first place, FALLING AWAKE makes the spectator indeed completely fall for it and willingly surrender to the melodic and visual beauty woven into a seemingly trivial narrative. Eventually, it shakes us awake to face the cruel exploitation of a young girl in the opera that we’ve been uncritically following. Lasse Schwanenflügel Piasecki’s artistic strategy controls and transgresses spectators’ perception in order to reveal the mechanics of manipulation and social exploitation in a most tangible manner. A pertinent reminder and a plea for more critical approach to the stories we are part of in our life."
Krystian Lada for the Jury Members of the 2018 edition of MusicTheatreNOW competition.
