Atthis
Atthis | Georg Friedrich Haas
Royal Opera House
Direction, design, costume, video Netia Jones
Soprano Claire Booth
Dancers Laure Bachelot, Rachel Maybank
Conductor Pierre-André Valade
London Sinfonietta
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"an extraordinary fusion of sound and vision...We have seen the soprano Claire Booth directed by that lighting-magician Netia Jones before, and here they were joined by dancers Laure Bachelot and Rachel Maybank, but never has their creative chemistry worked so effectively."
Independent
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"Jones's atmospheric video designs...water, frost, plants and glass shattering..."
Guardian
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"Painting with the endlessly flexible canvas of video - used here as an extension of the shadow-play of her lighting - Jones is a natural visual counterpart to Haas, whose microtonal music occupies the same range of shifting, incremental textures... A gorgeous play of music and emotion based on the erotic love poetry of Sappho "
The Arts Desk
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"Haas' music is well-known for its fascination with darkness and light, and Jones' production resonates perfectly with the score, whilst never overplaying its hand. The stage of the Linbury is lacquered to a mirror sheen, reflecting the bodies of the dancers and the overhead lights. Claire Booth lies, sits, or kneels on a ledge suspended in the middle of a great circle; the moon, the sun, a screen for psychologically exploratory projections, and a symbol of the cycle of loneliness, love, death, and rebirth that makes Atthis such a chilling piece of theatre."
Bachtrack