THURSDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
Tropenmuseum (Lichthal) – World Premiere
It may mention ‘opera’ in the title, but by Western standards, Garin Nugroho’s Opera Java is a pretty fresh mix of musical theatre, unabashedly attempting to meld the many traditional forms of Indonesian music and dance with contemporary rhythms and moves.
The story and themes of the opera are hardly groundbreaking. One girl and two boys are born into a world that keeps them perpetually entwined. The girl picks one boy as a life partner, enraging the jilted boy, who seeks to harm. The lucky boy works hard, leaving the girl at home, demanding obedience and solitude. Jilted boy declares his love for the girl and she eventually begins to question her solitary existence and her affections. Lucky boy no longer feels so good about life and love, killing his foe in a jealous rage, and eventually his girl too. By the end he’s skipping across the stage alone, giddy like a madman.
But Opera Java does differ greatly from a regular operatic tragedy. For one, there’s the gamelan to the left of the stage. This decorative collection of metallophones, gongs, bells, flutes and strings is performed by an experienced cast of players, understanding the rich history of the musical form, but also capable of embracing modernity. At times hugely percussive, inducing a transcendental sway in both the dancers and members of the audience, and at times more minimalist but precise, mathematical and reminiscent of Steve Reich (who admittedly stole his moves from gamelan rather than the other way round). At its most tense, the rhythms ceased, making way for bamboo flutes and strings, emitting a taut jazzy vibe overflowing with nerves and suspense.
Vocally the performance is also far from Western opera, relying as much on beautiful choral melodies from both the gamelan ensemble and the dancers, as it does the leads of the three main characters. What’s more, the second act opens with an adorable ukelele folk song with a notably Southern Pacific twang. Matched with a colourful and comedic dance routine, it was the one moment of the performance that really dropped the boundary between the audience the performers, threatening to turn into a sing-a-long before departing again all too abruptly.
The choreography proved to be a similar blend of old versus new, veering from traditional Indonesian folk dance, replete with smooth transitions and jarred stamping, to gymnastic contemporary moves, and even a brief nod to Michael Jackson (with a playful wink, thankfully). For the final scenes, even larger-than-life shadow puppetry was given a mesmeric outing.
The complete piece was only let down by the intermittent video items. Thankfully used rather sparingly, the background images – and even surtitles – didn’t entirely serve the story, instead pulling you away from the more impressive visual action onstage. Although used more fittingly during the final death scenes, the technical quality of the display, grainy and blurred, failed to match up to the music and dance precision onstage.
Aside from that little glitch, Opera Java, is a musically vibrant and emotionally moving piece, showcasing gamelan and Indonesian culture in an impressively modern format.
Opera Java continues on 3 to 5 September.
The International Gamelan Festival Amsterdam continues until 11 September.
