LOL - Laughing Out Lonely

LOL er áhrifamikil ný ópera eftir tónskáldin Matilde Böcher og Asger Kudahl þar sem hinn andlitslausi heimur netsins fær rödd. Verkið dregur upp átakanlega mynd af nútímalegum einmanaleika og áhorfendur upplifa sig stadda í hjarta hinnar stafrænu menningar.

Í stórbrotnum flutningi kontratenórsins Morten Grove Frandsen birtast ótal raddir jaðarsettra einstaklinga – frá ungu stúlkunni sem skaðar sjálfa sig til drengs sem dreymir um að verða fórnað. Áhorfendur eru leiddir inn í dimmustu afkima netsins þar sem ólíkir hópar, oft útskúfaðir, mynda undarleg og ósamræmanleg samfélög.

Textinn byggir á raunverulegum skrifum ungs fólks af samfélagsmiðlum en sviðinu er breytt í eins konar bergmálshelli þar sem áhorfendur verða hluti af verkinu. LOL talar beint inn í samtímann og á erindi við fólk á öllum aldri.

Verkið var frumsýnt í maí 2023 í samstarfi við SPOR-hátíðina, Aalborg óperuhátíðina og Copenhagen Opera Festival. Morten Grove Frandsen hlaut tilnefningu til Reumert-verðlauna 2024 fyrir frammistöðu sína.

Hér má lesa brot úr umfjöllunum um verkið:

Kristeligt Dagblad:

Laughing Out Lonely.... was a stylish close-up study of the changing grief and rage of the isolated person, sublimely portrayed by one of the country's most dramatically interesting singers

Seismograf:

”Matilde Böcher’s frictionless tonality combined with Asger Kudahls floating sound production became in Louise Becks’ skilled staging, and Morten Grove Frandsens’ total dedication, a tender, beautiful and moving piece full of dynamic energy”

Sceneblog:

”LOL – Laughing Out Lonley is a depressing and blunt, heartfelt and moving, fascinating and redemptive experience”

ISCENE:

”LOL is a furiously beautiful and in-your-face experience! And it is so cool to shake up the traditional narratives of the opera genre and instead get the rawness of reality kicked into the art form”

Politiken:

“In ‘LOL – Laughing Out Lonely’ the simple tone language seemed strong and confident. The solo performance shows Morten Grove Frandsen’s considerable vocal level. Not only does he sing superbly in falsetto. He is also able to croon and generally impress with the baritone voice he builds his countertenor singing from”

Magasinet KBH:

“The man with the many voices, faces and expressions is the wonderful countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen, and he flows effortlessly between the different characters, live and vividly in the audience as well as on sound recordings around the large room”