Nozze Istriane

At first glance it seems that unjustly neglected “Nozze Istriane” could not be staged in any other way but as a typical veristic ethno-opera, with strong local-patriotic colors. However, we tried to move it towards a metaphorical style and the ambivalent world of magical realism. Still constructed from realistic situations and events, and even set in a specific historical time and place (little Istrian town of Vodnjan, end of the 19^th century), in our staging the dramatic plot is intertwined with elements of fantasy to a degree and intensity that could only be believed under the impression of tragic love, or comic twist. Thus, for example, in the romantic-nostalgic set design the characters become larger than houses (models of authentic buildings in Vodnjan), while the inverted costumes ironically expose the habitus and corpus of what we call and consider – male. Through exalted operatic performance we emphasized a decisive critique of the patriarchal value system that reduces women, especially young women, to the object of a wedding transaction. It is precisely to this process and result, the ritual and act of marriage, that all the efforts of the small-town community towards its preservation are obsessively dedicated. It is therefore not surprising that in such a social regime a “blood wedding” is not only the inevitable outcome of unhappy love, thwarted and betrayed, but also a threat that can instantly plunge the community from elation to horror.