“Kseni”, the title of an opera by Jocy de Oliveira, means “The Foreigner” in Greek; someone from another place, another time, another culture, someone who thinks differently and fights for the right to be different. The opera deals with eternal conflicts, the issues of our day, and the primordial concerns rooted in man’s relationship with himself and with others, all contained in reflection on the Medeia myth, transposed into the cultural and political reality of the world we live in today. This myth is approached from the perspective of the transgressive woman, rootless, emigrant, denigrated and the butt of discrimination.
For this opera, Medeia was envisaged as a warrior whose armor is forged out of straightjacket straps. This duality between form (armor) and material (straps) is a reference to the alternating states of consciousness which the character undergoes over the course of her developmental arc.
The musicians were designed as non-human figures, oppressive metal objects that double as background.
Kseni – The Foreigner. Concept, music, video, text and direction by Jocy de Oliveira. Sigune Von Osten: soprano/guest actress, Gabriela Geluda: soprano/actress, Marilena Bibas: actress, Henrique Tinoco: boy singer, Opera Ensemble Jocy de Oliveira: Peter Schuback, Paulo Passos, Aloysio Neves, Luciano Côrrea, Ricardo Siri and Daniel Serale, Art Direction: Jum Nakao and Kiko Araújo, Costume design: Jum Nakao, Coordinator: Silvana Marcondes, Medeia costume creation: Cláudia Diniz and Lídia Yogui, Musician costume creation: By David.
October 2006