MOIRA: An Ode to a Life of Failure (2019) (80′)

Concept: Floris Van der Veken
Music: Adam Vincent Clarke
Choreography: Laura Walravens (Royal Ballet of Flanders)
Libretti: Angelina Gotcheva, Bogdan Ivanov, Adam Vincent Clarke

‘What does it mean to achieve greatness? To ascend atop the hardships and challenges of your life, to stand triumphant atop the mountain of success? Yet. What is it to fail? To strive and fight for your deserved position, rank, title – and in stead of a warm greeting face indifference, resistance, even violence?

MOIRA explores the journey of a creator, heading the whisperings of ‘Life’ – the seducer, the risk taker – over ‘Death’ – the cautious, the secure – to gamble her life in the name of greatness, to be met time and time again with failure, each creation devoured by the public as Saturn does his children. This road to success is difficult… but is it impossible?’

 

Practical:

MOIRA, is a multi-art gesamtkunstwerk/Dance-Theatre work in three Acts. It was composed from Autumn 2018 – Spring 2019 on commission of Floris Van der Veken. This was the largest work for stage yet composed by Clarke, encompassing over 75 minutes of music. MOIRA was first premiered May 10th, 2019 in the Theaterzaal of CCBerchem to a full-house.

Instrumentation: Saxophone Quartet (SATB), two sopranos, piano.
Two Dancers (Ballet/Contemporary)
One Actress (The ‘Artist’)