Prepare yourselves for a trip to the predramatic world, because to revisit the myth of Iphigenia, as director Alícia Gorina says, “is to go to a work that supposes the theatrical origins, the essence of the theatrical event.”
For this purpose, with the translation and adaptation by Albert Arribas, director and playwright have immersed themselves in the two works that Euripides wrote about Iphigenia in the 5th century BC. Born on the island of Salamis, Euripides is one of the three great ancient Greek tragic poets, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, and about the myth of the daughter of Agamemnon (Pere Arquillué) and Clytemnestra (Emma Vilarasau) he wrote Iphigenia in Aulida and Iphigenia in Tauride.
Ifigènia premieres on April 24 at the Teatre Lliure (until June 2), with a cast that includes Marta Ossó, Albert Pérez and Pau Vinyals, and a chorus of female voices: Cèlia Castellano, Daniela Fumadó, Júlia Genís , Laura Roig and Neus Soler, "who represent all the girls who have been victims of patriarchal structures", declares the director.
Before going into details, Gorina summarizes the plot: “ Agamemnon heads for Troy, but the ships are stopped in a bay because the wind stops blowing for days on end. This fact is interpreted as a punishment that will not be forgiven by the gods until the king sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia. But she is saved from it and she goes to Tauride, abroad, in present-day Crimea, where she has permission to kill all the Greeks who arrive."
“I wanted to explore all the aspects of the tragedy, with all the elements, and there is also sung music,” continues the director. We embark on a journey that goes from Greek tragedy to a more contemporary place, and that is why the second part is more dreamlike and we enter a more mental space, marked by chaos and violence. Choosing this tragedy has to do with the character of Iphigenia, that sacrificed virgin, but trying to avoid the cliché.”
Gorina points out three questions: “Why does Iphigenia undertake the sacrifice? It is a decision that Aristotle criticized a lot and, in fact, it is a black hole of the work. Since she cannot send all the Greeks away, she assumes the sacrifice with dignity. And as she is saved from it, Iphigenia grows older and she has to live with and manage everything that has happened to her. Just like her brother Orestes, she has inherited the violence of her parents, a violence that passes from generation to generation.” For the occasion, the Fabià Puigserver room will present a new configuration, “like a temple, with a large central corridor through which Iphigenia walks the path of sacrifice to the altar.”
Arribas tells of his adaptation: “Euripides was misunderstood in his time. Theater is problematic or it is not and in this work there is an unsolvable part. It is fascinating because it is problematic and reflects the difficulty of facing life. In the translation I have sought to make the characters coherent from a linguistic point of view.”
The music has been composed by Arnau Vallvé, Manel's drummer: “More than a year ago Alícia already had the work clear, she had the tragedy inside. This character, the choir, helps us accompany the story with choral singing.”
Vilarasau describes the rehearsal work: “Alícia has very clear concepts, but not easy. The first week and a half she didn't understand how she had to do it, but once we found a common language it was very nice. The male characters are almost comical because they are so pathetic, especially Agamemnon and Achilles.”
And Arquillué adds: “This is the second time I have worked with Alícia, who has a way of directing that you can't get up the next day because you are devastated.” Regarding the interpretation of Ifigenia, Ossó confesses: “It is very tiring and painful to do it every day, but yesterday I started having fun.”
Catalan version, here
