RICARDO FRAYHA
producer

Susan Sontag wrote the adaptation of Ibsen's classic play for Robert Wilson, a modern exploration of this story of Ellida, a woman whose early life had been one of great personal freedom living by the wild Norwegian sea with her father and, after his death, marries an older widower with two daughters and finds herself trapped, far from the sea. Michael Galasso's music is the base for a soundscape that unites adaptations of traditional Scandinavian folk songs, his own unique violin, and sounds of the sea, the cries of gulls. Six actors play in this adaptation of a story written a century ago in Norway that has proved accessible to modern audiences all over Europe. Originally staged in Italy (1998) with Dominique Sanda in the main role, it was remounted in Korea with a company of Korean actors where it proved the surprise hit of the Seoul Theatre Festival, the first Wilson's work to be seen in Korea.  Then it has been staged at the Teatr Dramatyczny Warsaw with a new cast of Polish actors and held in repertory for two years. in 2008 a new version was produced with an entire Spanish cast, the role of Ellida interpreted by famous actress Angela Molina. With costumes (by Giorgio Armani) that reflect the many colors of the sea, and a simple, elegant wooden set that is reminiscent of the deck of a ship, where shifts of scene are indicated only with the addition of a sail-like cloth and changes of the light, Wilson has created a work that fills the theatre with Ellida's longing for the sea.  In A Dama do Mar, fourth project in partnership with Sesc-SP, Robert Wilson directs, for the first time, a cast composed only by Brazilian actors, and with a differential in relation to the productions already made in Spain, Korea, Poland and Italy: here, the role of the protagonist, Ellida Wangel, as well as that of her stepdaughter, Bollete, is alternated by two actresses.

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ROBERT WILSON

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Born in Waco, Texas, Wilson is among the world’s foremost theater and visual artists. His works for the stage unconventionally integrate a wide variety of artistic media, including dance, movement, lighting, sculpture, music and text. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide. After being educated at the University of Texas and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, Wilson founded the New York-based performance collective “The Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds” in the mid-1960s, and developed his first signature works, including Deafman Glance (1970) and A Letter for Queen Victoria (1974-1975). With Philip Glass he wrote the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach (1976). Wilson’s artistic collaborators include many writers and musicians such as Heiner Müller, Tom Waits, Susan Sontag, Laurie Anderson, William Burroughs, Lou Reed, Jessye Norman and Anna Calvi. He has also left his imprint on masterworks such as Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Brecht/Weill’s Threepenny Opera, Debussy’s Pelléas et Melisande, Goethe’s Faust, Homer’s Odyssey, Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Verdi’s La Traviata and Sophocles’ Oedipus. Wilson's drawings, paintings and sculptures have been presented around the world in hundreds of solo and group showings, and his works are held in private collections and museums throughout the world. Wilson has been honored with numerous awards for excellence, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination, two Premio Ubu awards, the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale, and an Olivier Award. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the German Academy of the Arts, and holds 8 Honorary Doctorate degrees. France pronounced him Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2003) and Officer of the Legion of Honor (2014); Germany awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit (2014). Wilson is the founder and Artistic Director of The Watermill Center, a laboratory for the Arts in Water Mill, New York.

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THE LADY FROM THE SEA

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text by Susan Sontag | based on the play by Henrik Ibsen | translation: Fábio Fonseca de Melo | revision and adaptation: Leila Guenther

 

direction, set, light concept: Robert Wilson | 
music: Michael Galasso | costumes: Giorgio Armani | co-director: Giuseppe Frigeni | light design: A.J. Weissbard | sound design: Peter Cerone | visagismo: Luc Verschueren | set collaboration: Peter Bottazzi and Valentina Tescari

 

with Lígia Cortez (Ellida Wangel / Bolette Wangel)* | Ondina Clais Castilho (Ellida Wangel / Bolette Wangel) | Hélio Cícero (Hartwig Wangel) | Luiz Damasceno (Arnholm) | Felipe Sacon (The foreirgner) | Bete Coelho (Hilde Wangel) - special participation | * alternating roles

 

assistant director: André Guerreiro Lopes | assistant light design: Fiammetta Baldiserri | stage manager: Rafael Bicudo | sound operator: Rodrigo Gava | sound technician: Antonio Lopes Simplicio Neto | light operator: Isadora Giuntini | light technicians: André Luiz Pierre Vilar and Ducastam Martins Neto | make-up: Emerson Murad | make-up assistant: Guilherme Vieira Souto | props: Ednomar Mendonça e Wanderley Wagner | Technicians: Wanderley Wagner, Willian Torres, Ednomar Mendonça, Nelson Fracolla, Maicron dos Santos, Roberto Rodrigues, Enrique Casas e Paulo Ricardo | wardrobe: Alba Rezende | follow spots: Patrícia Savoy Ferreira Francisco, Rodrigo Campos de Oliveira Correa, Pedro Melão Ferreira and Júlia Freitas | rigger: Paulo Ricardo

 

project by Change Performing Arts, Milan, Italy | artistic director: Franco Laera and Elisabetta di Mambro | public relations and communication: Maristela Gaudio | production coordination: Virginia Forlani | personal assistant to Robert Wilson: Julian Mommert 

 

production in Brasil: prod.art.br | production direction: Ricardo Muniz Fernandes | executive production: Daniel Córdova, Ricardo Frayha | administration: Matthias Pees | communication coordination: Carminha Gongora | technical direction: Julio Cesarini | technical coordination: Ana Cristina Irias

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Realisation: Sesc São Paulo

Sesc Santos 

Santos, SP, Brazil

16 and 17/05/2013

Teatro Paulo Autran - Sesc PInheiros

São Paulo, SP, Brazil

25/05 to 07/07/2013