Written by Ljiljana Maletin Vojvodić //

Rarely would anyone resist the voyeuristic temptation to peer at a beach from a safe distance. Especially if an opera is taking place on it. But Sun & Sea (Marina) is not a classical opera, but an opera performance, and the beach is not real but artificial, just like the sunlight. From the gallery of the „Cvijeta Zuzorić“ Pavilion last night, the bright (spotlight) sun illuminated the sandy beach, wealthy mothers, exhausted workers, decadent world travelers, and their children, in swimsuits, on beach towels, in leisure, entertained with food, play, reading, conversation. Occasionally, children’s voices, the sound of a ball, laughter, and individual and choral songs could be heard: about everyday life, pleasure, worries, and boredom…

Venice Biennale 2019 ©︎ Art Box portal

This text describes a Lithuanian „opera about climate change,“ in which the music is not performed on stage but is recorded, there is no conductor, and the singers sing while lying on towels on the sand. The melodies are melancholic and gentle, but the narratives are warning. It seems that due to our negligence, the end of the world will not end with an apocalyptic bang but with numbness. The libretto warns us, as monologues merge into a portrait of an apocalyptic climate crisis.

In this performance, there is no preaching or condemnation („Who are we to look down with scorn on people who have 10 days of vacation in the sun from jobs they hate?“ say the authors.) Those we observe from a safe and seemingly superior distance (the audience walks along the gallery during the performance to get different perspectives) are actually ourselves. Our paradoxes. From the song of a wealthy mom, the song of a workaholic, philosophical lamentation, stories about a volcano, the sister’s 3D song, and more, we learn that „tourists“ enjoy a garbage-polluted ocean, a woman mourns her ex who drowned when swimming too far on vacation, a romance began at the airport because flights were stopped due to volcanic dust…

The play premiered in an abandoned multi-story parking lot in Vilnius. I first saw it in Venice Biennale, during a pre-opening where it wasn’t even known that the Lithuanian Pavilion, „for its experimental spirit and unexpected approach to national representation,“ would be awarded the Golden Lion, the most prestigious award at the 58th Venice Biennale. But in front of the Lithuanian Pavilion those days, there were long lines. The multidisciplinary work by director Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, writer Vaiva Grainytė, and composer Lina Lapelytė, which was shown in the main competition program at this year’s BITEF, first attracted the attention of the audience and then that of experts, critics, and the media.

During its European and global tour, the performance was also shown this year at the „Cvijeta Zuzorić“ Pavilion in Belgrade. The space is different there, but the performance anticipates a change in the environment, a different cultural reception, and random elements like the behavior of children or a dog. It changes as it travels the world, volunteers change, and to some extent, the ensemble changes too.

„Sun & Sea (Marina)“ combines experiences of visual art, theater, and music. In the seemingly harmless environment of the beach and leisure, serious issues are explored, including the ecological decline of the world. Carefree „tourists“ seemingly enjoy lounging in the „sun.“ Visitors from the gallery observe seemingly carefree, almost romantic scenes: people lying on the beach, singing, reading books, surfing the internet, children building sandcastles, playing badminton, a dog being affectionate, and barking… But „Sun & Sea,“ in the absence of explicit didactics, speaks about human laziness „that will lead us to the end of the world“; and about how „contemporary crises develop easily, quietly like a pop song.“ None of these people reacted while one woman in the song complains that the trash isn’t being cleaned up, while a young man mourns that there is no snow on Christmas…