The face of the lion

"Have you ever met an elderly person who doesn't remember recent events? Doesn't your grandmother seem like she lives in another world where she thinks you are part of her childhood?
This opera takes a unique peek into the life of someone suffering from a mysterious illness. We see how a wife loses her beloved husband to the disease and becomes unrecognizable to him. He simply doesn't remember her and is chained to his old childhood memories, while more recent memories are gone. At the moment there is no cure, no remedy, no light in the tunnel for the family and people close to him/her...
The music, acting, singing and choreography in The Lion's Face are all elements that create the atmosphere of the Alzheimer's patient - with the people around him, his wife, his carer, his daughter and of course the doctor. The idea of composer Elena Langer and librettist Glyn Maxwell is that the Patient is an actor and only utters lines while the other characters sing. How strange is this encounter with this universe for the patient? He speaks while the others sing.
The message of The Lion's Face is that we should be able to accept and forgive each other, whatever happens, when we may undergo change as we grow older."-Morten K. Roessen, director

Runtime: 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission
Performed in English with Bulgarian subtitles. The spoken dialogues are in Bulgarian.
Premiere: 6.04.2019, Chamber Stage "In Pocket 234"