Existence is the continuity of blood

Gouwenberg and Lindhout wrote a pastiche for the opera-performance, in which they introduce the twentieth-century horror hero Zé do Caixão into the nineteenth-century opera ’Il Guarany’. They worked together with musical actress Morwenna Marcus (Mary Poppins a.o.) and the Portuguese performer João Evangelista on an opera-performance in which visual art, performance, theatre, fiction and history appear in succession, cross over and comment on each other.

The original opera ‘Il Guarany’ by composer Carlos Gomes was premièred in Milan in 1870 with a libretto in Italian. The opera is an adaptation of the book O Guarani (1857) by José de Alencar, the author regarded as the pioneer of Brazilian romanticism. In De Alencar’s book, thrushes form an orchestra, a river transforms into a full-length mirror and rays of sunlight turn into decorative golden arabesques. Sometimes the tropical rainforest becomes a Garden of Eden, sometimes a Gothic cathedral or a wild and dangerous environment. The rainforest forms the backdrop for the courtly love between the Portuguese young lady Cecília (Ceci) and Peri, of the Indian people the Guarani. The novel is also seen as one of the first attempts to formulate the cultural identity of the Brazilian nation.

Into this operatic story, Gouwenberg and Lindhout introduce Zé do Caixão, a well-known Brazilian media personality. With his characteristic top hat, black cape and long fingernails, Zé do Caixão is a familiar figure in many films, TV shows, comic books and the ‘literatura de cordel’– cheaply printed books with folklore tales, poetry and songs. Zé is the alter ego of cult director Mojica. José de Mojica Marins (1936) is an independent filmmaker from São Paulo, Brazil. He began his career during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. Many artists and filmmakers fled Brazil to avoid censorship, but Moijca chose to stay. The films he made during that period, with his alter ego in the leading role, made a political statement that should not be underestimated. In an absurdist way, they sketch what was going on in Brazil during the dictatorship.

Actors: Morwenna Marcus & João Evangelista
Direction and decor: Joris Lindhout and Maaike Gouwenberg

The performance is made possible by RO Theater.