War Sum Up is a highly visually alternative opera, merging Japanese manga images projected on stage with classic warrior texts. Fuelled by a mash-up of chamber pop, electronic and new classical music, the piece has been received with great acclaim after its premiere in Riga in 2012.
Conceived by experimental Danish theatre Hotel Pro Forma and performed by Grammy award winners Latvian Radio Choir with a score by British symphonic art-pop ensemble The Irrepressibles and Latvian composer Santa Ratniece, the piece is a pioneering artistic reflection on the brutal, yet fascinating nature of war.
Through a blend of striking light effects, smashing sets and technical innovation, 12 singers appear on stage wearing costumes by fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, to tell a story with three main characters: a soldier who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the spectre of a Warrior killed in battle and a Spy who became a superwoman in order to survive. Playing with light and darkness, the strong visuals are accompanied by a mix of sounds blending in men and machines as metaphors for an endless scourge of the human existence.
War Sum Up looks to push our senses to the limits, while offering it’s audience a chance to reflect on a universal subject, materialized in a visual manner that it hopes will encourage us to look at the world with new eyes.
Conceived by: Hotel Pro Forma
Performed by: Latvian Radio Choir
War Sum Up
Hotel Pro Forma
Date: 8pm 27 June, 2015
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre, Grand Auditorium
Tickets: MOP$300, $250, $200, $150, $100
More info: In Japanese with Chinese and English surtitles
