World Première of the Opera Slow Man at maltafestival poznań 2012!

The opera Slow Man was created in collaboration between Flemish composer Nicholas Lens and South African author John Maxwell Coetzee who wrote the libretto. The director is Maja Kleczewska, one of the most talented and interesting personalities in Polish theatre. The musical director is Marek Moś, the founder and conductor of one of Poland’s best chamber orchestras, AUKSO, and one of the conductors of the famous Krzysztof Penderecki/Aphex Twina/Johnny Greenwood project performed at the European Culture Congress in 2011.

The opera is an adaptation of John Maxwell Coetzee’s novel Slow Man. Published in 2005 it was Coetzee’s first work since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The plot of both the book and the opera comprises numerous themes with an emphasis on adaptation to unpredicted life-altering events (the main character’s confrontation with disability following a road accident), the nature of care and assistance, as well as the human drive to leave a legacy and the relationship between an author and his characters.

The show is produced by Malta Festival Poznań and the Poznań Opera. The world première will be presented on 5 July 2012, during the festival.