The opera-performance conceived, directed and performed by Marina Abramović finally made its debut. The artist dedicated her piece to soprano Maria Callas and the opera heroines she sang during her career.
Related articles: Marina Abramovic predicts the future of performance art - The multisensorial compositions of Ryoji Ikeda - 5 Reason for seeing Marina Abramović "The Cleaner"
Seven singers perform seven different arias sung by Maria Callas throughout her career, while Abramović comments on numerous aspects of the opera from her perspective. At the same time, a video shows the performer interpreting the death of the opera's heroine. On stage Abramović is not alone: at her side is actor Willem Dafoe, while the music was composed by Marko Nikodijević. "This project is very close to my heart," said the Serbian performer. "It is about dying of heartbreak, dying for love. I hope that the audience can find a part of themselves in these timeless subjects".
According to Abramović's initial project, each death was to be directed by a different director, including Roman Polanski, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Marco Brambilla, Giada Colagrande and Yorgos Lanthimos. The original idea was thus meant to create a feature film composed of seven different episodes. Due to initial problems, the Serbian performer’s project could not be realized in 2015 and consequently turned into the project that made its debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper. 7 Deaths, in fact, was supposed to be staged in Munich last April, and then presented in June in Italy during the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival. However, the pandemic delayed the Munich event by five months.
