ARTS | ‘War Sum Up’: Contemporary opera takes center stage at CCM

War Sum Up – a contemporary opera mounted by experimental Danish theatre group Hotel Pro Forma – will be staged at the grand auditorium at the Macau Cultural Center (CCM) on June 27. The award-winning Latvian Radio Choir will be performing the opera..
Conceived by director Kirsten Dehlholm, and Willie Flindt, the opera derives inspiration from Japanese manga. Drawings of manga will be projected onto the stage, complete with a score co-written by British art-pop ensemble, The Irrepressibles and Latvian composer Santa Ratniece.
“The piece is described as a pioneering artistic reflection on the brutal, yet fascinating nature of war and has been chosen to be performed on international stages such as the Brooklyn Academy’s Next Wave Festival,” CCM said.
According to Dehlholm and Flindt, it “is as simple and as complicated as man itself.” “War Sum Up tells of war through three main characters. The solider is sent home from war. He suffers from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and he no longer feels at home in civilian society. He returns to the war and dies in an explosion. A monument is raised in his memory. His symptoms and fate exist today,” they explained on the theatre group’s webpage.
Other characters include The Warrior, who was killed in battle and The Spy, who became a superwoman to be able to survive.
“At the heart of this small creative army’s labors is a fundamental notion by Mr. Flindt, which at first blush seems to boil down to a pithy “war is bad” but blooms into something more nuanced and provocative on reflection,” wrote Steve Smith in an opera review for The New York Times.
Playing with shadows and contrasts all through a blend of striking light effects, a cast of 12 singers and artists will appear on stage wearing costumes by fashion designer Henrik Vibskov.
Hotel Pro Forma are known for their avant-garde and multi-disciplinary productions since 1985. Dehlholm has even received the highest recognition in the field of visual arts in Denmark. Hotel Pro Forma describe themselves as “an international laboratory of visual music performance and installations.” Since 1985, they have produced over 50 shows in more than 30 countries. CP