At which pole does love reside: mind, or matter?

What about inspiration… and desire?

Our search for these elusive experiences is as ancient as our very arrival into consciousness. Put simpler: everyone wants Love’s address. Even in antiquity, the Greeks had already reduced it to two tormenting options: swamp, earth-bound Dionysus or immaculate, heavenly-bound Apollo.

Western identity and culture –Camille Paglia would argue- is nothing more than the exacerbation of the Apollonian philosophy and cosmogony. Today however, amid the recurring cycles of archetypes, even in Western countries, Dionysus seems to be getting the upper hand… The Maenads, -their voices nothing but sensual whispers,- would say it in slightly different words: ‘the earth is about to devour the sky… ‘

Enter the Szymanowski Project, an ambitious Theatrical Multimedia Fantasy way too complex to summarize in a few words: based on Karol Szymanowski’s voice cycle: ‘Songs of the Mad Muezzin’, the Szymanowski Project uses 7 actors and one singer as well as abstract paintings and live video installations in its effort to capture the “…dangerous and challenging venture into the esoteric world of mystical-erotic ecstasy of composer Karol Szymanowski… and within the delirious notions of Orphic elegy and Dionysian rites, it examines the subjects of voice and desire while addressing the issues of artistic revelation and love…”

If this wasn’t ambitious enough, since ‘head talking’ theatre wouldn’t suffice for this extremely difficult and obscure theatrical extravaganza, Timur Bekbosunov –the show’s creator and singer- orchestrated his rendition of the Songs so that the project is ‘an adaptation of Wlodzimierz Stanieswki’s theatrical practice of transforming emotional realism into transcendental dualism…’ Stanieswki’s renown avant-guard theatre company Gardzienice is known worldwide for their acting ‘Expeditions’, excursions into nature meant to revive what Staniewski calls ‘the natural environment of theatre.’

Winner of the USC Student Grant Program –having beat over 100 other participants- the Szymanowski’s Project is a collaboration between its creator, Timur Bekbosunov and film artist Sara Hegarty as well as 7 actors: Karenn Chutjian, Rachel Bar-Gadda, Jessica Martell, Sarah Buster, Carin Gilfry, Devin Kelley & Alexandra Lang. Abstract paintings in the exhibit are original works by famed artist Mara Devereux.

In a telephone interview with Socal.com, creator and singer Timur Bekbosunov explains to us why the attraction for such obscure and difficult work: “Part of my excitement with the voice cycle has much to do with its ultimate message. As a singer, I’m also attracted to it by its technical difficulty but above all, I can appreciate Szymanowski’s ideal of uniting opposites…” –hence the Dionysian and Apollonian counterpoints.

A rare and perhaps for LA IQ standards, a dense production, the Szymanowski’s Project will only be performed twice in Los Angeles (future stops being arranged include Boston and Poland) starting this coming Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 7pm and Sunday, September 25^th at 3pm. Tickets are free but you need to call or email to reserve your seats. Seating extremely limited and reservations are highly recommended.

See full event details below:

WHEN:           Saturday, September 24, 2005, 7 pm

                   Sunday, September 25, 2005, 3 pm

WHERE:        Arnold Schoenberg Institute (ASI), USC University Park Campus

                   3500 Watt Way, Los Angeles

TICKETS:      Free admission, but due to limited seating an advanced reservation is required. Email your request to info@madmuezzinproject.org or call (213) 384-8291.