SIMONE CARDINI
COMPOSER
The Crocodile
Plot
“The Crocodile” is an opera based off of an astonishingly contemporary short story by Dostoevsky that questions our social and political values while challenging us to distinguish illusion from reality.
River is swallowed alive by a crocodile.
Rain, River’s friend, seeks help and guidance from Stone, who instead fantasizes on the profitable outcome of this mishap. Ash, River’s partner, ruthlessly seizes the opportunity to break all bonds and move on, but they are all wrong-footed by River’s unexpected decision.
Swallowed alive, are they finally seen?
Abstract
The plot has a new non-linear structure that differs from the original one to emphasize the impossibility of one single truth.
Through Dostoevsky's incredible story, I delved into social contradictions by dramatizing their effects on the characters, illustrating how human existence has largely shifted 'inward' onto a psychic plane, fostering the profound subjectivity we all experience.
The choices of the characters, their doubts, and their own collapse of self blur the separation between the audience and the stage. This encourages spectators to become self-aware and recognize their potentially active or passive roles.
Art image © Arte Priva di Punteggiatura
World premiere
Urania Theater
Köln
03 July 2024
h.19:00
Composer: Simone Cardini
Conductor: Giordana Rubria Fiori
Director: Lorenzo Lenzi
Assitant conductor: Elias Jurgschar
Kostümbildner : Unai Urkola Etxabe
Video maker / Cover designer: Arte Priva di Punteggiatura (Giulia Cardini)
River: Marie-Audrey Schatz
Rain: Risa Matsushima
Ash: Leo Bögeholz Gründer
Stone & Barley: Paolo Leonardi
Clarinet/Bass cl.: Heni H. Kim
Bar./sop. sax: Alvaro B. Monje
Trumpet: Pedro H. de Souza Rosa
Trombone: Tiziano Mazzoleni
Percussions: Jacqueline F. Dourado
Bayan: Samuele Telari
Piano: Alberto Carnevale Ricci
Seaboard: Simone Cardini
Violin: Jae A Shin
Viola: Margot Le Moine
Cello: Yiyang Zhao
Double bass: Javad Javadzade
Supported by:
Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln
Kunststiftung NRW
