Premiere of Vera Martynov's stage cantata "SOS"

On November 17, 2020, Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) will present the world premiere of the stage cantata "SOS (Song of Songs)" in digital format.

Artist Vera Martynov created SOS together with the artistic director of the Intrada ensemble Ekaterina Antonenko and composer Alexei Sysoev. The performance, the American premiere of which was supposed to take place in March 2020, was rethought and adapted for a new digital format. Now SOS is a film with an immersive effect, consisting of fragments of performances recorded in Moscow in August and September 2020, and interspersed with visual elements - illustrations from Vera Martynov's livre d'artiste. Originally conceived as a live performance, the stage cantata for 14 singers, two reciters, percussion, and telegraph key will be reinterpreted and digitally adapted.

The digital premiere of SOS combines the full text of Song of Songs - an Old Testament book written in the period from the 7th to the1st century BC and sounding in English in a translation of the 17th century (King James Bible), as well as video performances, studio audio recording of the cantata and a total installation created by Vera Martynov.

SOS abbreviation is a reference to the canon book of the Old Testament "The Song of Solomon" and the international distress signal transmitted by Morse code. The composer of the project is Alexey Sysoev, the choreographer is Nikita Chumakov.