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Kats-Chernin's Undertow at Adelaide Festival

(June 2004)

Elena Kats-Chernin's latest foray into multi-media music theatre, Undertow, was unveiled at the Adelaide Festival in February. Co-commissioned by the State Opera of South Australia and Finnish National Opera, the work blends opera, dance, theatre and video. Director Juha Vanhakartano places an ill-assorted collection of humanity – life-savers, a dancer, newly-weds, tourists and a conservationist – on an Australian beach, and reveals through the lyrics of Andrea Rieniets what happens as they are trapped by the rising tide.

"Undertow is an intense, quizzical piece… Paranoia sets in as the characters cling to the receding shoreline and squabble over their territory… Undertow’s overwhelming strength is its music. Elena Kats-Chernin’s score creates an enveloping psychological power that drives this opera compellingly forward… she is razor-sharp in delineating mood, whether sinister or comic… Her vocal writing – direct and succinct – sparkles." The Australian

"This chamber opera blends new technologies and theatrical practices with traditional operatic forms in a very satisfying way… The eight-piece band revels in the cheeky rhythms and playful orchestration. The vocal lines soar, leading to a rare and lovely quintet at the heart of the music… Undertow will travel well." The Advertiser

In addition to future performances of Undertow in Helsinki, Kats-Chernin’s plans include the August premiere of Mythic, a 12-minute work for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the creation of a tuba concerto for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2005. Her acclaimed full-evening ballet Wild Swans, choreographed by Meryl Tankard, will travel to Copenhagen in 2005 as part of the Hans Christian Andersen bicentenary celebrations. The success of the ballet has led to Kats-Chernin and Tankard being awarded a two-year Fellowship from the Australia Council, enabling them to work on a future collaboration.

Undertow at the Adelaide Festival: Photo © Juha Vanhakartano

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