Mitra

The portrait of an Iranian psychoanalyst who is wrongfully interned and her battle for freedom with almost mythical proportions.

Following the cry for help from his Iranian colleague Mitra Kadivar, psychoanalyst Jacques-Alain Miller tries to free her from a psychiatric hospital in Teheran by means of e-mail correspondence. Based on this heartfelt correspondence Mitra brings the story of Kadivar’s fight. On the crossroads between opera, film and installation, this is a genuine cry from the depths of imprisonment and isolation. Mitra attests to the resistance of our humanity, which is vulnerable and stands up against everything that destroys it. Besides this on-stage version Jorge León also made the film 'Mitra' which is shown in selected international cinemas.
Mitra is one of the winners of the Music Theatre NOW competition 2018.

More info >

Production:

Muziektheater Transparant and Ictus.

Coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts Brussel, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Théâtre de Liège i.k.v. IMPACT, De Munt/La Monnaie, Present Perfect vzw, GMEM Marseille, Actoral Marseille and Les films de Force Majeure.

With the support of Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, International Film Festival Marseille FID, Ultima Festival, Camargo Foundation, IRCAM, CNC DICRéAM, Thank you & Good Night Production, Interreg V Euregio Meuse Rhin & Wallonia, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Österreichisches Kulturforum.

 

Location Dates Hour  
Musiktheatertage Wien (Wenen)
www.mttw.at
Show on map		23/9/2022
24/9/2022
00:00
00:00
 
 
Concept | Direction: Jorge León • Composition: Eva Reiter • Composition Choral Parts: George Van Dam • Musical Supervision: Georges-Elie Octors • Dramaturgy: Isabelle Dumont • Scenography: Thibault Vancraenenbroeck • Costumes: Silvia Hasenclever • Video: Aliocha Van der Avoort • Images: Jorge León • Aliocha Van der Avoort • Thomas Schira • Lighting design: Peter Quasters • Sound Design: Alexandre Fostier • Soprano: Claron McFadden • Voices: Mitra Kadivar • Jaques-Alin Miller • Performer: Simone Aughterlony • Child: Laurenz Schäfer • Ensemble: Ictus • : Michael Schmid • Gerrit Nulens • George Van Dam (Violin) • Eva Reiter (Paetzold recorder & bass violin) • Vocals: MM Solists Ensemble of La Monnaie • Choir coach: Polina Bogdanova

The horror of its content, the monochrome stage setting, the anti-music and the blistering cinematography: they all come together in an unusually intense performance out of which arises a longstanding question: what role do the arts have to play? If theatre is no longer an institution where the tragic is made workable and raised to a higher level by means of aesthetics, does it still have a place in our existence?

Cutting Edge - 10 May 2018 ***

A surprising multidisciplinary piece that leaves no one unmoved. … The ambient sounds, music and the singers’ voices come from every corner of the theatre simultaneously. … It is an all-embracing experience. … In addition to McFadden’s notable stage performance, the work that preceded it also made an impression. … This is something that should be meticulously followed up; it is for the most intrepid opera audiences.

Olyrix - 13 May 2018

This documentary-inspired story of an Iranian psychoanalyst’s correspondence with a colleague in the west about her struggle to remain sane while being wrongfully incarcerated is harrowing and speaks to the sense of precarity and sadness that arguably appears to define our contemporary time. The production succeeds in excellently articulating an overwhelmingly clinical desolation, as a psychiatric ward in Tehran is brought into being using a sensitive mix of stark lighting, strict linearity of set design.

The Jury of the 2018 edition of MusicTheatreNOW competition