MEDIATHEK

Autuus (Bliss) is a 75-minute music theatre work for choir and ensemble employing video and electronics.
 
 The plot is based on a real event, richly documented in the contemporary press, that took place in Kangassalmi, Finland in 1881. A curate beat his brother to death after having a vision that this brother could not experience salvation unless he died immediately.
 
 The libretto is a central part of the work and will be projected in real time during the performance in both Finnish and English. An integral semantic and graphic part of the performance, the text will open multiple levels of understanding beyond what is seen on the stage.
 
 Video plays an important musical part in this multilayered work. The images are close-ups of the soloists, extented playing techniques on a cello, and metronomes.
 
 The third act is a a dance-like coreography between the two brothers. During the dance the audience can follow a documentary interview of Hannu Lauerma, a psychiatrist at a psychiatric hospital for prisoners.
 
 Other visual elements on stage are kept to a minimum.
 
 2 sopranos, 2 altos, 3 tenors, 3 basses. (One soprano, one tenor and one bass have solo roles.)
 Flute, clarinet, cello, harp, piano (all amplified)
 Electronics: Stereo PA-system + subwoofer
 Video: 2 video streams, one for video material, the other for text
 Lighting: one technician
 
 All singers and instrumentalists signals will be processed live.
 
 Autuus was commissioned by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and defunensemble.