Posted by Nature doesn’t have a sense of humour, so it’s just coincidence that I’ve caught my first dose of Covid-19 in the opening week of the opera I’ve been working on since January 2020. But else is there to do but laugh? There’s a small chance I might be well enough to see the last performance on Friday, but I’m not hopeful. I’ve seen videos of the dress rehearsal and friends have told me how fabulous it was, but that’s not what I regret most. What I’ll miss is being together as people co-create something beyond their own hopes, sharing the moments of meaning and joy, because that’s what makes community art—community. And to be honest, I don’t even mind missing that so much because I know it’s there, it exists, among the 1,000 and more people who have made La Gata Perduda together (and most of whose languages I don’t speak). It’s theirs; they’ve earned it over months and years of hard work and it will nourish them. And I’m thrilled about it, even if I can’t be there. It’s enough to know it exists.
Tonight is the première, so there’s a flurry of things appearing online that you might be interested in, if you care about community art, opera or the kind of work I write about.
- First is a gorgeous new website that explains the whole story (in English and Catalan)
- Then the Traction website, you can read The Odd Couple, which is my contribution for the opera programme (still another surprising turn in a surprising career).
- On Liceu+ you can meet some of the people involved in the co-creation through some great videos (in Catalan, but English subtitles are coming and they’re fascinating as they are).
- In Arts Professional, you can read a piece I’ve written about the Traction project and the new possibilities it suggests for opera.
The poster designs co-created by members of Sínia Centre and Escola Masana are up.
The team behind the Traction opera in Portugal have arrived
The tickets are all sold – CURTAIN UP
I wish everyone the time of their lives!
Parliament of Dreams 