The European Night of Museums

This year the event will involve a larger number of participating institutions

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 09.05.2023, 14:00

The Night
of Museums has this year reached its 19th edition. Hundreds of special
events will be organized both in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Beyond
the museums that will open their doors free of charge, this year there are more
cultural events, which means guests will be able to enjoy special light shows,
performances, demos, workshops, street and interior animations or various
concerts. In today’s feature we will be discussing the initiatives of two
institutions, the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest and the
National Opera of Bucharest, the latter taking part in the event for the first
time. Doina Georgescu, a choreography
teacher at the Floria Capsali High School, invited us behind the scenes of the
performance to discover the moments before the performance itself.

This is
not our first participation. This year we want to present the behind-the-scene
dimension of ballet or dancing, which is why we wanted to focus on classical
dance, contemporary dance, Romanian dance or character dance classes. At the
same time, piano classes are really important, which is also something we want
to stress. And since we’re talking about art, we take advantage of having a
group of children with a particular talent for painting, and we will also
exhibit some of their works. We will also display the costumes and props
specific to ballet, and of course we will make a short presentation of our high
school and the international recognition it enjoys.

Therefore,
guests who visit the Floria Capsali High School on the Night of Museums will
also be introduced to future ballet dancers, from the first steps they take to
becoming professional artists. Guests will attend a number of dance or ballet
lessons which will give a basic introduction to the makings of a ballet dancer.
Doina Georgescu told us more:

We have
also been accepted to collaborate with the National History Museum, where
groups of pupils accompanied by their coordinating teachers will stage
20-minute performances. The children have prepared a very appealing and varied
choreography. Therefore, you are invited to join us so we can enjoy together
the mirage of dance, simple gestures, natural motions expressed candidly by our
young dancers. Accompanying them will be their peers enrolled in the
complementary piano section, trained by our chorus masters.

We also
learned that the Floria Capsali High School in Bucharest will be staging a
special gala at the end of May at the National Opera in Bucharest, celebrating the
efforts of both students and teachers.

***

The
National Opera in Bucharest itself will open its doors on the Night of Museums
on May 13 for the first time. Artistic director Alexandru Nagy told us more.

We thought
it is a great opportunity for us, as we never took part in the Night of Museums
before, considering we have an impressive museum devoted to the lyrical genre. I
don’t know of other similar museums. The National opera takes part in the event
for the first time, and perhaps we will also have first-time visitors. We have prepared
a special program – it is in fact a travelling concept, organized in a number
of venues of the National Opera, including at the Museum. Together with our
partners from the National Theatre and Cinema University, the National Music
University, the Association of Independent Puppeteers and the Ludovic Spiess Musical
Arts Experimental Studio, we have tried to come up with a novel tour.

The Ludovic
Spiess Experimental Studio was founded in 2006 and has a long history of organizing
artistic events. Right now, the studio is looking to change its profile.

Guests will be divided into groups of 50 people. Starting midnight, every half
an hour, the groups can set out on this tour, which we have called the Living
Opera. It’s a living art concept, because all the characters involved in our
presentation are either composers or famous opera characters. Therefore, guests
will be able to listen to excerpts of arias, duets and tunes specific to the
opera. They will see young actors, representatives of the young generation who
are members of the Ludovic Spiess Musical Arts Experimental Studio or
independent puppeteers. Radu Spiridon and Matei Mihai have created a video-mapping
concept, which we hope will attract a different kind of audience compared to
our regular spectators. On May 13 the Opera also celebrates 85 years since the
birth of our great tenor Ludovic Spiess.

The
performance staged by the Ludovic Spiess Experimental Studio will become part
of the National Opera’s traditional repertoire in an expanded format, involving
40 young artists taking part in the project. (VP)