One should dare to clown around
On July 15, Maladype and the Qaartsiluni Ensemble will present Great Sound in the Rush, a “semi-serious” opera by László Sáry, who celebrates his 75th birthday this year. We spoke with director Zoltán Balázs about the performance, which will debut at the International Bartók Seminar and Festival, and about Maladype, which celebrates its 15th anniversary.
What does it mean that the opera is “semi-serious”?
According to Hungarian writer István Örkény, grotesque is when you look through your spread legs and see the world upside down. One should dare to clown around, have the courage to make fun of themselves and be careless. Our goal is to make the audience want to be mischievous, to look at each other, whisper something to each other, and participate in the games we offer. The whole work has a naive artistic character and a childlike spirit in the noble sense of the word. We have to somehow untangle this terribly complicated task, this incredibly demanding, rich, personal, and cunning material, and show its lightness and joy.
How did you find Great Sound in the Rush?
László Sáry introduced me to Lajos Rozmán, artistic director of the Qaartsiluni Ensemble, who is also an outstanding clarinettist. After continuous consultations between the three of us, the project finally took shape, and we decided that Maladype and Qaartsiluni would co-produce the 75-year-old composer’s piece. I am particularly pleased that the International Bartók Seminar and Festival has agreed to host the premiere, which will be accompanied by László Sáry's workshop and a traveling exhibition of his sheet music, which will go on tour in the fall along with the performance. It will be shown at the Music of Our Time Festival (“Korunk Zenéje Fesztivál”) and has also been invited to the Chamber Opera Festival of Eger.
You are basically staging your former teacher’s piece, as László Sáry is a lecturer of University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest. What additional burden does this place on a director?
I’ve had a decade-long relationship with László Sáry; I was still a student at the university when we first had the opportunity to work together on Fernando Pessoa's play The Ancient Anxiety. Later, during rehearsals for The Blacks, Empedocles, and another work by Sándor Weöres, Theomachia, we developed a common vocabulary. Regardless, I don't want to draw parallels between our previous works and the current opera premiere, as change and the search for new paths have always defined my creative process. The long break since we last worked together was strange, but our relationship was not a burden; rather, it manifested itself as the joy of formulating shared insights with the composer, Lajos Rozmán, and the Qaartsiluni Ensemble.
The opera is based on Sándor Weöres's piece Theme and Variations. Weöres's oeuvre seems to accompany your work throughout the years.
Sándor Weöres is a creator with a vision at least as unique as that of László Sáry, inspiring me to constantly examine, analyse, and deconstruct these seemingly simple yet extremely complex universes. Weöres and Sáry advocate for irregularity, change and experimentation, which offers common ground with my ideas about theatre making.
Speaking of irregularity and change: with state subsidies reduced again this year, how much can you plan ahead?
Due to the nature of the independent theatre scene, we do not receive regular, annual, fixed state funding. We do not have a host institution behind us; we maintain our permanent venue, the Maladype Base on Mikszáth Square, and our permanent company by ourselves. We always have plans A, B, C, and Z, but that doesn't mean that Maladype, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, will always just be able to “figure something out”.
At the end of the theatre season, your company left the Independent Performing Arts Association (FESZ). What exactly happened, and why did you feel it was important to take this step?
I explained everything in our statement. I have come to terms with what happened; we are working with the small amount that was allocated to us. I did not ask for the previous amount to be doubled, but if they cannot increase it, at least they should not decrease it.
The company's lineup has changed countless times in recent years. Is this all due to financial difficulties?
I think of change as a natural part of theatre making. I don't consider myself the kind of creator who does the same kind of thing for decades. Experimentation, irregularity, and new topics motivate me, and we have persistent partners accompanying us on this expedition. It would be difficult to remain creative if I was still working with the same people I started with 15 years ago.
Years ago, you said that you didn't want Maladype to become "Zoltán Balázs and Company" instead of a creative workshop. As you approach your 15th anniversary, how do you feel you've managed to keep that promise?
Although Maladype is primarily linked to my person, I continue to strive for this.
Rumour has it that after a long hiatus, you will return to the stage as an actor during the next season.
A few years ago, Krétakör Ensemble published a series of interviews with Ariane Mnouchkine titled The Art of the Present, in which the world-famous theatre artist mentions Viktor Kravchenko's 1946 indictment of Stalin “I choose freedom” among the five books that have shaped her life. The title immediately caught my attention, as freedom is a central theme in my work. Although the American connection is clear, we searched for it in the Russian-speaking world, assuming that it had been published in Russian. A two-year series of negotiations for the translation and stage adaptation began with Andrew Kravchenko, the author's son living in Los Angeles, who held the rights, and eventually we obtained the full rights. The book was translated by historian Péter Konok and presented at this year's Book Festival. The main character and the novel were unknown to the general public in Hungary, and there is enormous interest in them. We are currently working on the stage adaptation, which will be presented as a one-man manifesto in the fall of 2015.
By Zsolt Oláh, György Frauenhoffer, Fidelio.hu, 2015
Translated by Lena Megyeri
What does it mean that the opera is “semi-serious”?
According to Hungarian writer István Örkény, grotesque is when you look through your spread legs and see the world upside down. One should dare to clown around, have the courage to make fun of themselves and be careless. Our goal is to make the audience want to be mischievous, to look at each other, whisper something to each other, and participate in the games we offer. The whole work has a naive artistic character and a childlike spirit in the noble sense of the word. We have to somehow untangle this terribly complicated task, this incredibly demanding, rich, personal, and cunning material, and show its lightness and joy.
How did you find Great Sound in the Rush?
László Sáry introduced me to Lajos Rozmán, artistic director of the Qaartsiluni Ensemble, who is also an outstanding clarinettist. After continuous consultations between the three of us, the project finally took shape, and we decided that Maladype and Qaartsiluni would co-produce the 75-year-old composer’s piece. I am particularly pleased that the International Bartók Seminar and Festival has agreed to host the premiere, which will be accompanied by László Sáry's workshop and a traveling exhibition of his sheet music, which will go on tour in the fall along with the performance. It will be shown at the Music of Our Time Festival (“Korunk Zenéje Fesztivál”) and has also been invited to the Chamber Opera Festival of Eger.
You are basically staging your former teacher’s piece, as László Sáry is a lecturer of University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest. What additional burden does this place on a director?
I’ve had a decade-long relationship with László Sáry; I was still a student at the university when we first had the opportunity to work together on Fernando Pessoa's play The Ancient Anxiety. Later, during rehearsals for The Blacks, Empedocles, and another work by Sándor Weöres, Theomachia, we developed a common vocabulary. Regardless, I don't want to draw parallels between our previous works and the current opera premiere, as change and the search for new paths have always defined my creative process. The long break since we last worked together was strange, but our relationship was not a burden; rather, it manifested itself as the joy of formulating shared insights with the composer, Lajos Rozmán, and the Qaartsiluni Ensemble.
The opera is based on Sándor Weöres's piece Theme and Variations. Weöres's oeuvre seems to accompany your work throughout the years.
Sándor Weöres is a creator with a vision at least as unique as that of László Sáry, inspiring me to constantly examine, analyse, and deconstruct these seemingly simple yet extremely complex universes. Weöres and Sáry advocate for irregularity, change and experimentation, which offers common ground with my ideas about theatre making.
Speaking of irregularity and change: with state subsidies reduced again this year, how much can you plan ahead?
Due to the nature of the independent theatre scene, we do not receive regular, annual, fixed state funding. We do not have a host institution behind us; we maintain our permanent venue, the Maladype Base on Mikszáth Square, and our permanent company by ourselves. We always have plans A, B, C, and Z, but that doesn't mean that Maladype, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, will always just be able to “figure something out”.
At the end of the theatre season, your company left the Independent Performing Arts Association (FESZ). What exactly happened, and why did you feel it was important to take this step?
I explained everything in our statement. I have come to terms with what happened; we are working with the small amount that was allocated to us. I did not ask for the previous amount to be doubled, but if they cannot increase it, at least they should not decrease it.
The company's lineup has changed countless times in recent years. Is this all due to financial difficulties?
I think of change as a natural part of theatre making. I don't consider myself the kind of creator who does the same kind of thing for decades. Experimentation, irregularity, and new topics motivate me, and we have persistent partners accompanying us on this expedition. It would be difficult to remain creative if I was still working with the same people I started with 15 years ago.
Years ago, you said that you didn't want Maladype to become "Zoltán Balázs and Company" instead of a creative workshop. As you approach your 15th anniversary, how do you feel you've managed to keep that promise?
Although Maladype is primarily linked to my person, I continue to strive for this.
Rumour has it that after a long hiatus, you will return to the stage as an actor during the next season.
A few years ago, Krétakör Ensemble published a series of interviews with Ariane Mnouchkine titled The Art of the Present, in which the world-famous theatre artist mentions Viktor Kravchenko's 1946 indictment of Stalin “I choose freedom” among the five books that have shaped her life. The title immediately caught my attention, as freedom is a central theme in my work. Although the American connection is clear, we searched for it in the Russian-speaking world, assuming that it had been published in Russian. A two-year series of negotiations for the translation and stage adaptation began with Andrew Kravchenko, the author's son living in Los Angeles, who held the rights, and eventually we obtained the full rights. The book was translated by historian Péter Konok and presented at this year's Book Festival. The main character and the novel were unknown to the general public in Hungary, and there is enormous interest in them. We are currently working on the stage adaptation, which will be presented as a one-man manifesto in the fall of 2015.
By Zsolt Oláh, György Frauenhoffer, Fidelio.hu, 2015
Translated by Lena Megyeri