SEAN BELL
Countertenor and Performance Artist
Stille Amare
Stille Amare, which means bitter drops, is a multimedia performance for voice, sound and video. The piece is centred around the aria ‘Stille Amare’ from the opera ‘Tolomeo, re d’Egitto’ by Handel.
The stylized and theatrical language of opera is here brought together with more abstract and expressive elements of performance through sound, image, movement and text. These elements contrast, interfere and communicate with each other, creating dissonance.
In this way, the opera’s tradition is challenged and questioned. The libretto is left in its original form as a poetic part of the music, and through its new relation to the other elements, other interpretations reveal themselves.
The performance was selected for the annual National State Exhibition in 2021 and presented at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo.
More about the exhibition
The stylized and theatrical language of opera is here brought together with more abstract and expressive elements of performance through sound, image, movement and text. These elements contrast, interfere and communicate with each other, creating dissonance.
In this way, the opera’s tradition is challenged and questioned. The libretto is left in its original form as a poetic part of the music, and through its new relation to the other elements, other interpretations reveal themselves.
The performance was selected for the annual National State Exhibition in 2021 and presented at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo.
More about the exhibition