RECYCLING MEDEA

A film by Asteris Kutulas • Music by Mikis Theodorakis • Choreography by Renato Zanella
cfp award

About the music and the film "Recycling Medea"

From the beginning, the tragic element in music has exerted a stronger spell on me than any other. It certainly suits my character. So, for me it seemed only natural to turn to ancient drama – initially, as a lover of this artistic genre, and later also as a composer. I started to write theatre and film scores for ancient tragedies and later proceeded to explore lyrical tragedy, i. e. in my operas.
When Renato Zanella came across the music of my lyrical tragedy “Medea”, he decided to base his corresponding ballet choreography on this score. Finally, Asteris Kutulas came along to create an entirely new work of art, itself based on the elements mentioned above. However, Kutulas did not simply create a filmic document of the ballet, but decided to transform these elements into something entirely new, thus lending the result a deeply social and political dimension.
He made a film with a very contemporary message: Despite the tragedy Greece has been forced to face by the criminal international economic system, the country still stands, although deeply wounded. Euripides’ Medea screams – expressed by Maria Kousouni in dance and vocalised by singer Emilia Titarenko – because betrayal drives her to the most terrible crime imaginable: the brutal slaughter of her own children. Today’s Greece comes together in the infernal screams on the country’s streets and squares because – as a victim of ruthless actors within and those attacking Greece from without – it, too, finds itself driven to the most terrible crime: killing the future of its own children.
I think we are dealing with a true work of art, one that prompts us take responsibility. A work that doubles as an anthem for the struggle of the people and nations to achieve freedom and true independence.

Athens, 7 June 2013
Mikis Theodorakis
(Article for the newspaper Elefteros Typos)

  • Follow
  • foto © Stefanos Vidalis