SOLDIER’S TALE

 

 

Is a theatrical work “to be read, played, and danced”, by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by instruments. The piece was conceived by Igor Stravinskyand Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz based on a Russian folk tale (The Runaway Soldier and the Devil) drawn from the collection of Alexander Afanasyev.

 

 

The libretto relates the parable of a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil in return for unlimited economic gain. The music is scored for a septet of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet (often played on trumpet), trombone, and percussion, and the story is told by three actors: the soldier, the devil, and a narrator, who also takes on the roles of minor characters. A dancer plays the non-speaking role of the princess, and there may also be additional ensemble dancers.

In this Unit one of the tasks for the students was to be familiar with the real time performances and their deadlines. The soldier’s tale opera piece was a collaboration in which the MA Digital Theatre course was responsible for the digital scenography of the performance.

 

 

The director’s idea, was to create an environment like a game template in which the soldier could behave and react as a game character. My group was responsible for designing this virtual environment. Elements which we had as our sources for inspiration were the costume designs.

 

 

According to the aesthetics of the designs our decision was to create a background with textures,geometric shapes and lines that could support visually the text and the director’s vision.

Images which helped us to develop our ideas:

 

A. Shapes

B. Game Environment

C. Textures

D. Lines.

 

The director’s vision was to create a new Guernica, the soldier’s Guernica. A modern Guernica with the pain and the crisises that an individual has to deal with nowadays.

 

The following images demonstrate the final outcome of our idea:

  

Unfortunately, due to some difficulties we couldn’t complete this design. We presented only the Guernica theme for the beginning and the sides with the glowing lines.