Drifted/Royal Swedish Opera
‘What happens after the disaster? When a beach paradise turns into an inferno, Karin Rehnqvist and Kerstin Perski put their ears close together and create a trauma emergency room for grief. With elements of folk music and guitar ballad, Strandad is a psychologically expressive opera for soloists, large choir and orchestra. A chilling voice cuts through like the knife of conscience and guilt lies black over the brightly colored holiday dreams. With rumbling cascades, brittle sounds and straightforward text, it illustrates how the forces within us can be just as violent as those of nature.”
— Motivation of the selection jury
Something momentous has happened to Maria, but she cannot remember what. Is she an illegal immigrant? Has she committed a horrific crime? On a beach full of happy people on holiday, Maria encounters «The Other», her own shadow, which forces her to confront feelings of guilt after having survived a natural disaster. Drifted is a ritual opera about how to go on living when the most important things in life are gone. Karin Rehnqvist is one of Sweden’s foremost composers. Partly inspired by the immense collective tragedy that followed the 2004 tsunami, which she personally witnessed in Thailand, she and the librettist Kerstin Perski have written a compassionate opera about strong human emotions such as grief, loss, survival guilt and the search for equilibrium in a world that has been turned upside down. Opera arias meet folk music when Lena Willemark sings the role of The Other. Maria is sung by Vivianne Holmberg.
By Karin Rehnqvist & Kerstin Perski
Music Karin Rehnqvist
Lyrics Kerstin Perski
Direction Natalie Ringler
Dramaturgy Katarina Aronsson
Set design Anna Heymowska
Costume & mask Moa Möller
Light Tobias Hagström Ståhl
Choreography Roger Lybeck
Starring Maria Vivianne Holmberg, The Other Lena Willemark, Peter P Carl Ackerfeldt, Mrs. Lind Katarina Leoson, Sara Elvira Kåhlin / Benthe Börjesson Liebert, Simon Johan Edholm.
Conductor Cathrine Winnes
Royal Swedish Orchestra
Royal Swedish Opera Chorus
Read more about the production here