This week opera project Grid for which the music was written by Age Veeroos will be premiered in Berlin. For the project, Veeroos with 6-member team won the main prize at the competition of music theatre project Operare 2010, organised by Berlin Contemporary Opera in 2010. Grid’s starting point is life in the large city in the 21th century. It tells about human condition beside the rapidly changing technology, new forms of perception, reality and virtual world, changes of social space.
Co-authors of the project are Korneel Hamers (text, Belgium), Julia Rommel (scenography, Germany) and Julian Bergheim (media design, Germany).
Performers collective consists of two singers and a chamber ensemble from which majority are Estonian musicians: Andres Köster (tenor), Riivo Kallasmaa (oboe), Jandra Puusepp (saxophone), Taavi Kull (conductor) and Tammo Sumera (sound engineer), Ave Sikk (repetitor) and Roomet Jakapi (sprechstimme). Also flutist Richard Craig (Scotland) who has cooperated with Estonian composers before, soprano Celine Hänni (Switzerland) and contrabassist Lars Burger (Germany) will appear on the stage.
Veeroos has previous experieces with music theatre. In 2008, short opera Fire Enchanter on her own libretto was staged in Kanuti Guild Hall, Tallinn. In 2005, she participated in five composers’ opera project “As time goes by” of Staatsoper Hannover series “Zeitoper”. Notable with Germany the composer has had several creative bonds: in 2002, vocal-symphoniv work “Psalmodia” was commissioned by the University of Tübingen, in 2005, Prelude for the Franz Schubert’s song “Die Nebensonnen” was premiered in Berlin Philharmonic Hall by Leipziger Sinfonietta. As a German philologist, Veeroos obtained the master degree in composition in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, additionally improved her skills in Karlsruhe Higher Music School. her music is subtle, with precisely elaborated details, attention on individual sounds.
Music theatre project Grid will be premiered on April 21 at 8 pm in Kesselhaus that is one of the most high-ranking culture venue in Berlin. The second performance will be given on April 22.