ELECTRA 21 A Liquid Staging 4-film installation by Asteris Kutulas to a soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis

4 films, played simultaneously | on 4 different screens | that are placed around the audience area | running synchronously to 1 soundtrack

Official poster (photo © by Loukia Roussou, artwork by Achilleas Gatsopoulos)

Music by Mikis Theodorakis | Choreography by Renato Zanella | With Sofia Pintzou as Electra | Cinematography by James Chressanthis ASC, GSC | Editing by Asteris Kutulas & Yannis Sakaridis | Art Direction by Achilleas Gatsopoulos | Scenography by Georgios Kolios | Music Production & Editing by Alexandros Karozas | Written & Produced by Asteris & Ina Kutulas | Co-Produced by Schott Music | Created & Directed by Asteris Kutulas

ELECTRA 21 is a Liquid Staging show installation consisting of a soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis, four films running synchronously to the music and an (optional) live act with 1 dancer & 2 percussionists.

Film still with Kat Voltage, costume by Annabell Johannes (photo © by Asti Music)

ELECTRA, a timeless thriller by Sophocles: The father sacrifices his eldest daughter for power and fame. Years later, his wife takes revenge and slays him. Their children, Electra and Orestes, kill her to avenge their father. A circle of hatred and destruction. No happy ending.

Sofia Pintzou

Katherina Markowskaja

Renato Zanella

Sofia Pintzou & Tamara Dornelas Souza

Mikis Theodorakis conducting the "Electra" recordings

Director's Statement: The Liquid Staging project, ELECTRA 21, consists of four films, played simultaneously on four different screens that are placed around the audience area, showing different dance scenes, rehearsals, and fantasies based on the Electra ballet performance by choreographer Renato Zanella. The four films are played synchronously to the same musical recording of the Electra opera music by Mikis Theodorakis. – Asteris Kutulas

Sofia Pintzou (photo © by Loukia Roussou)

The music of Mikis Theodorakis, the gripping elemental choreography of Renato Zanella, the fantastic dance artistry of Sofia Pintzou, the mastery of the cinematographer James Chressanthis (ASC) and the artistic input of all the artists involved in this project, make our liquid staging production, ELECTRA 21, an impressive, highly emotional and innovative work. – Asteris Kutulas

Sofia Pintzou & Eltion Merja (photo © by Loukia Roussou)

For a long time, I've had a vision of combining the worlds of cinema, ballet and show – in a work of art for the 21st century. Hence the title ELECTRA 21. This cinematic show installation moves away from the one-dimensional view of the 19th century and offers the audience the polydimensional perspective, which corresponds far better to the complexity of our epoch. – Asteris Kutulas

Alexandra Gravilescu & Valentin Stoica (photo © by Maria Hiliopoulou)

Precisely synchronized with this ELECTRA 21 music, the four films representing the following four levels (layers) of the complete work, ELECTRA 21 (62min), on the four screens:

Screen 1: ballet film | the dance performance ELECTRA, produced at the Apollo theatre of Syros in the choreography by Renato Zanella | 24 scenes following the storyline of Sophocles

Screen 2: the genesis of the ballet | the rehearsals for this ballet performance at different locations in Austria and in Greece, with the dancers and the choreographer Renato Zanella

Screen 3: the lyrics of the soundtrack & fictions | „fictional scenes“ with the people involved in this ballet production, combined with graphically designed insertions of the Sophocles text passages, each of which can be seen synchronously with the music feed

Screen 4: genesis of the music and the recording | Mikis Theodorakis conducts the musical recording of the opera, ELECTRA, in the studio in St. Petersburg, which was used as the basis for the Electra ballet performance. These film recordings are mixed with video clips of young conductors conducting the 22 scenes of the ELECTRA 21 soundtrack.

Sofia Pintzou & Eltion Merja (photo © by Asteris Kutulas)

MUSIC CREDITS | Galina Dolbonos – Electra, Wladimir Feljaer – Orestes, Emilia Titarenko – Chrysothemis, Daria Rybakova – Clytemnestra, Peter Migounov – Pedagogue, Eugeni Witshnewski – Aegisthus, Sergej Leonwitch – Pylades | St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Orchestra & Choir | Directed by Mikis Theodorakis ||| Music Production, Editing & Mastering by Alexandros Karozas | Produced by Alexandros Karozas & Asteris Kutulas | Music Edition by Schott Music (CD published on WERGO)

Mikis Theodorakis, directing ELECTRA (photo © by Asteris Kutulas)

BALLET CREDITS ELECTRA | Music by Mikis Theodorakis (from his opera "Electra") | Choreography by Renato Zanella | Film sequences by James Chressanthis ASC, GSC | Music Editing by Alexandros Karozas | Lighting Design by Uwe Niesig | Costumes by Olgica Gjorgieva | Production by Georgios Kolios | Concept by Asteris Kutulas | Directed by Renato Zanella & Asteris Kutulas | ELECTRA: Sofia Pintzou (Greece), CLYTEMNESTRA: Alexandra Gravilescu (Romania), CHRYSOTHEMIS: Tamara Alves Dornelas Souza (Brazil), ORESTES: Eltion Merja (Albania), AIGISTHOS: Valentin Stoica (Romania), PYLADES: Florient Cador (France) | Ballet performance filmed at the "Apollo" Theater of Hermoupolis (Syros) | International Festival of the Aegean | Presented by MidAmerica Productions of New York and the Municipality of Syros-Hermoupolis | General & Artistic Director Peter Tiboris

Sofia Pintzou, Eltion Merja & Renato Zanella, rehearsing ELECTRA

FILM CREDITS (4-movies-installation) | Music by Mikis Theodorakis | Lyrics by Sophocles | Ballet Choreography by Renato Zanella | Cinematography by James Chressanthis ASC, GSC, Mike Geranios & René Dame | Editing by Asteris Kutulas, Yannis Sakaridis, Stella Kalafati, Cleopatra Dimitriou, Antonia Gogin a.o. | Art Direction by Achilleas Gatsopoulos | Music Editing & Mastering by Alexandros Karozas | Electra 2nd camera by Vasilios Sfinarolakis | Electra assistance to James Chressanthis by Hara Kolaiti | Still photography by Robin Becker | Electra production Management by Vassilis Dimitriadis | Additional shootings by Zoe Chressanthis, Asteris Kutulas, Stella Kalafati, Achilleas Gatsopoulos (DOP), Hara Kolaiti, Dionissia Kopana, Sarah Scherer a.o. | Sound by Klaus Salge | Written & produced by Ina & Asteris Kutulas | Directed by Asteris Kutulas

James Chryssanthes ASC, shooting ELECTRA

FEATURING (4-movies-installation) | Katherina Markowskaya filmed by Sarah Scherer | Maria Zlatani filmed by Panos Iliopoulos | Phaidra Giannelou, Clément Nonciaux, Henning Schmiedt, Lefteris Veniadis, Ursula Vryzaki, Leandros Zotos

STARRING (4-movies-installation) | Sandra von Ruffin, Annabell Johannes, Melentini, Katharina Krist, Rafika Chawishe | Rosa Merino Claros, Stella Kalafati, Inka Neumann, Aiste Povilaikaite, Marilyn Rose, Kat Voltage a.o.

Sofia Pintzou (photo © by Maria Hilopoulou)

Electra Story | Shortly after sunrise, two strangers - Orestes and Pylades - appear in the area. They send the queen Clytemnestra the false news that her son Orestes has died in a chariot race while in exile. || Clytemnestra, who together with her lover Aigisthus killed her husband Agamemnon and therefore fears that her son Orestes, who fled years ago, might still be dangerous to her, is delighted to hear of his death. Now Clytemnestra has nothing to fear. So she sends a messenger to invite the two men to the palace that evening to celebrate the good news. || When her daughter Electra learns of her brother Orestes' death, she tries in vain to persuade her sister Chrysothemis to murder her mother in revenge. || The two 'strangers' reveal their true identities to Electra, who in turn incites her brother Orestes to murder. Orestes finally enters the palace and kills Clytemnestra and, when he appears, her lover Aigisthus.

Special thanks to Peter Hanser-Strecker, Margarita Theodorakis, Thorsten Schaumann, James Chressanthis, Rafaela Wilde, George Dalaras, Tim Dowdall, Joe Lomba, Tim Smith, Alexandros Karozas, Sarah Scherer, Alexander Koutoulas, Jörg Krause, Lefteris Veniadis, Andreas Walter, Paris Konstantinidis, Jannis Zotos, Brigit Mulders, Nikos Vlachakis, Anita & Uwe Förster, Jan Perray, Dimitris Koutoulas, Sofia Stavrianidou | Hof International Film Festival, Alternative Digital Cinema Los Angeles, Canon USA, Schott Music & the Strecker Foundation

info@asti-music.de