For many years, Polish composer Witold Lutosławski refused to compose pieces which would be used for the stage. Only in the late 1980s, did he decide to compose an opera based on the play The Conference of the Birds written by Jean-Claude Carrière. He even spoke to the French writer about this endeavour. Unfortunately, Lutosławski’s idea of creating this ‘bird opera’ never came to fruition. Lutosławski passed away in 1993.
Twenty-five years later, an international team plans to bring Lutosławski’s music onto the stage: the British Rambert Dance Company, the American filmmakers, known as the Quay Brothers and the Danish choreographer Kim Brandstrup will present the new performance Life Is A Dream.
Life is a Dream, based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, is a show that combines the dance story-telling of Brandstrup with the stunning visual imagination of the Quay Brothers, and is enriched by the harmonious music of Witold Lutosławski, played by a full-size symphony orchestra. It is a dream-like tale of the illusory nature of human existence.