The International Brazilian Opera Company returns to Scandinavia House this fall to present a concert recital of Act One from The Seventh Seal – Opera, a new work by composer João MacDowell with text from Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name.
“I relied primarily on the 1957 version of the film. I also used the audio of the film to guide me in writing the music, following the intonation from the actors,” MacDowell says.
MacDowell is a two-time recipient of an artist residency at The Bergman Estate on Fårö, where The Seventh Seal-Opera was created. The Seventh Seal, considered a classic of world cinema, follows the story of a disillusioned crusader’s return to his plague-ravaged homeland and subsequent chess match with Death. In MacDowell’s opera the role of Death has been given to a dramatic soprano, Olga Bakali, while tenor Nelson Ebo will play the knight.
Act One will be sung in Swedish with projected English subtitles.
About the International Brazilian Opera Company
The International Brazilian Opera Company is a non-profit organization that supports the creation and development of new operatic repertoire that combines ideas from both Brazilian and international artists, while providing an educational structure for new talent to emerge.
The Company is dedicated to developing an artistic community that can attract new audiences while preserving the artistic integrity that traditional opera audiences have come to expect. For more information, visit brazilianopera.com.
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Image courtesy of the International Brazilian Opera Company
THU—11-10-2016 & SAT—11-12-2016—8 PM
Artist Talk—7:30 PM
$30 ($20 ASF Members)