Aix-Marseille Université commissioned Alexandros Markéas to create a world premiere of a symphonic orchestral work with choir and dance on the “Seventh Continent” theme. 90 musicians, 70 singers and 15 dancers from students to alumni and AMU staff will perform on the stage of the Théâtre National de La Criée.
The “Seventh Continent” is the huge concentration of plastic waste evolving in the northern Pacific Ocean, a vortex of detritus that symbolises in itself our contradictions, our chaotic paths, our excessive growth and our dysfunctional conceptions.
The project tries to tell this strange story, with sounds and songs mixed with the vibrations and crackling of plastic, with the synthetic noises of the world. It presents a musical journey that follows the movement of sea currents before arriving at this sad and frightening new continent. This journey is inspired by the music of other continents to tell the story of our ambivalent relationship towards nature. It alternately offers moments of meditative contemplation, sequences of ritual celebration or despair complaints.
Gradually the orchestra also transforms into a gigantic vortex where cries of distress and feelings of hope encounter each other and collide.
A proposal of Aix-Marseille Université coproduced by the Opéra Municipal de Marseille.
Composed by Alexandros Markéas.
Partners : Le conservatoire National à Rayonnement Régional de Marseille, Le Théâtre National de la Criée and Marseille Concerts.
