A groundbreaking music-theatre piece, 'Sea Beneath the Skin/Song of the Earth' collides cultural worlds in a mesmerizing display of sound, movement, and visual spectacle. Lemi Ponifasio's brainchild weaves together Mahler's iconic song cycle with Pacific Islander chants, textures, and imagery to create an immersive experience that defies categorization.
On stage, the dark, glossy floor becomes a platform for ritualistic performances, as women in stark, monochromatic attire engage in haunting vocal duets and intense physical interactions. The audience is enveloped by an atmosphere of urgency and uncertainty, as kauri trees rise like sentinels from the darkness, evoking the primeval forests of New Zealand.
The music of Mahler takes on a new, exotically charged quality, thanks to Ponifasio's innovative staging and collaboration with musicians Iain Farrington and Nuno Coelho. The lush orchestration, condensed to 16 players by Farrington, becomes an ornate tapestry of sound that complements the raw energy of the vocal performances.
Sean Panikkar's heroic tenor and Fleur Barron's velvety mezzo-soprano bring a level of passion and intensity to the songs, elevating Mahler's compositions to new emotional heights. The use of monochrome videos, showcasing abstract images of flowers blooming, underwater explosions, and people wading through floods, serves as an effective visual counterpart to the music, imbuing the performance with a sense of immediacy.
Despite still feeling like a work in progress, 'Sea Beneath the Skin/Song of the Earth' stands out from other climate change-themed works, offering an innovative approach that is both absorbing and thought-provoking. This is not a lecture; it's an invitation to experience the world through sound, movement, and visual poetry.
On stage, the dark, glossy floor becomes a platform for ritualistic performances, as women in stark, monochromatic attire engage in haunting vocal duets and intense physical interactions. The audience is enveloped by an atmosphere of urgency and uncertainty, as kauri trees rise like sentinels from the darkness, evoking the primeval forests of New Zealand.
The music of Mahler takes on a new, exotically charged quality, thanks to Ponifasio's innovative staging and collaboration with musicians Iain Farrington and Nuno Coelho. The lush orchestration, condensed to 16 players by Farrington, becomes an ornate tapestry of sound that complements the raw energy of the vocal performances.
Sean Panikkar's heroic tenor and Fleur Barron's velvety mezzo-soprano bring a level of passion and intensity to the songs, elevating Mahler's compositions to new emotional heights. The use of monochrome videos, showcasing abstract images of flowers blooming, underwater explosions, and people wading through floods, serves as an effective visual counterpart to the music, imbuing the performance with a sense of immediacy.
Despite still feeling like a work in progress, 'Sea Beneath the Skin/Song of the Earth' stands out from other climate change-themed works, offering an innovative approach that is both absorbing and thought-provoking. This is not a lecture; it's an invitation to experience the world through sound, movement, and visual poetry.
this music-theatre piece sounds AMAZING!!! I would LOVE to see it live 
I think it's so cool how they're combining different cultures in one show... Mahler's song cycle with Pacific Islander chants is such a unique blend! 
the way they've used monochrome videos and kauri trees on stage must be SO striking 
And can we talk about Sean Panikkar and Fleur Barron's voices?! 
their passion and intensity must have brought the whole performance to life 
and I'm still reeling from the experience! The way they used Mahler's music alongside Pacific Islander chants was SO cool 
️. My daughter, who's into environmental activism, loved how it highlighted the importance of preserving our natural world 
. What really struck me though was how this show brought people together – I've never seen so many strangers mesmerized by music and performance in my life 
. Let's get more of this innovative thinking in our communities! 
I also love how they used monochrome videos to complement the music - it's like a whole other world on stage 
. It's not just another climate change lecture; it's an experience that'll leave you feeling...well, not so lost anymore 
! The way they mashed up Mahler with Pacific Islander chants and imagery was pure genius 
. The music was insane too, so lush and ornate... I mean, who knew Mahler could be so exotic? 
!
[A meme of someone getting " transported to another dimension" with a musical note above their head, with sound waves surrounding them]
[a GIF of kauri trees swaying in the wind, with a gentle, soothing melody playing in the background] 
. It felt like a real spiritual experience, even though I'm not exactly sure what was going on 
.
I mean, who needs traditional opera when you can just mash up some Mahler with Pacific Islander chants and call it a day? Sounds like a real game-changer... for those who love feeling like they're stuck in a weird dream world. The fact that the set is basically just a dark floor with some trees and some ladies singing their hearts out doesn't take away from the "immersive experience" at all, right? 
And don't even get me started on how cool it is to have only 16 players in an orchestra... I mean, who needs more than that to create an "ornate tapestry of sound"? 