In the absence of more precise and duly contrasted information on the figure of Sappho (either because her writings have not been preserved, or because others were premeditatedly destroyed), The team of Christina Rosenvinge/ Marta Pazos/ Maria Folguera they have sought to vindicate it, yes, from the values that have been increasingly normalized in our western society. Such as: the fact that on stage there are diverse bodies interacting with each other; that a work about a woman made under a feminist inspiration, be made with and by women, etc.…
Of course there is still a long way to go. make visible and value illustrious women of our culture like the painting Artemisa Gentileschi, the writer Christine de Pizán, the philosopher Lou Andreas-Salomé, among many others that relatively recently, are beginning to sound. Many will say with some skepticism, that the recent recovery of these figures is being “forced”, that “for some reason we have not heard them mentioned with the same weight, in relation to other illustrious men”, etc… The fact is that there are still We have to come up with the formulas so that these emissions are completely neutralized, as a sign that our society as a whole has also matured in these matters. That is to say: This, among other things, is going to carry out a responsible and democratic management of our historical legacy. Of course, in any epistemological approach there will be a type of bias; However, where I think we should direct our focus is to open this type of debate, in such a way that the new paradigm to which we are heading contains the necessary considerations, so that the idea that all human beings have had the same opportunities in all times and places in the world, be deleted from the initial premises.
Photo: David Ruano
In this line, the women who have been highlighted by our history books appear as “unusual beings”, or failing that, as women whose work has been read just like that of another illustrious man. In parallel, we have to accept that we are in the midst of a fierce “war for the story” against the most conservative and reactionary sectors, as well as within the feminisms that coexist today, there are numerous issues on which consensus will be difficult to reach in the short and medium term. Far from underestimating the richness of the aforementioned plurality, we must realize that at the point where we are, we have barely overcome a few steps towards a real equality between all human beings, although it is true that the horizon we have more “clear” compared to a few decades, when making a diagnosis of the situation in which we find ourselves.
Meanwhile, initiatives such as this multidisciplinary piece are born, in which it is assumed that the information we currently have on the figure of sappho, is insufficient for us to draw fully satisfactory conclusions. Here he is ironic with how the reception of his legacy has evolved; that it is a question of generating a framework in which, despite the fact that these professionals have taken certain licenses (which are warned in one way or another in the synopsis), it is indeed accessible to the public to discern which version of the figure of Safo they have wanted to “reconstruct” with what is “rescuable”, in order to rethink the condition of women in history and in the present.
Photo: David Ruano
Thus, these professionals have composed songs based on Sappho’s verses, dream images, scenes ranging from the tender to the naughty, going through the erotic and the libertine… Without the above leaving aside a vehement claim for recognition of the autonomy of women, when deciding what they want to do with their lives. All this with an aesthetic that knew how to make the eclectic one of the factors that made this work something unpredictable and exciting. And although more than one does not feel identified with this miscellany of languages, I have no doubt that many of its viewers have been left wanting to immerse themselves in the work and the legacy that has come down to us from Sappho. Seriously that this piece should go on a tour of institutes and universities throughout Spain to publicize the figure of Safoshowing his students and teachers that there are countless ways to approach culture.
The team of Christina Rosenvinge/ Marta Pazos/ María Folguera was made up of fantastic actresses, contemporary dancers and musicians, who made a display of versatility, dedication, truth, and why not say it, they had fun like never before: What a pleasure! see professionals having a good time performing a work they believe in! All these interpreters deserve their corresponding mention, but in this text I am going to focus on two of them specifically. This is: Christina Rosenvinge she adopted the role of Sappho in this work, which led her to sing the lyrics of this ancient Greek woman from various registers and states, delighting those who have followed her throughout her extensive professional career. Likewise, his interpretation and presence on stage favored the necessary counterpoints for us to remember that this work also does pedagogical work, at the same time, it helped the public to imagine what the times of recreation and enjoyment would have been like. Sappho with her disciples and the muses that probably accompanied them at all times.
Photo: David Ruano
Those who have been following my publications in this medium for some time will know that professionals like Lucía Bocanegra are for me the future and present of contemporary performing arts in Spain: it is an inspiration and a pleasure to see her on stage. above in the case of Sappho, with her (as with the rest of the cast) we had the success of identifying what are her potentialities in favor of the assembly and the subsequent representation of this piece. So that, Lucía Bocanegra enriched each of the roles she played with her entire repertoirebringing out the enormous emotion that lives inside him, allying himself with his strength and physicality as in the scene of the “lettuce battle”, or what to say that he has not stopped growing as a singer (remember the scene in which one of her intimate roles with the character of Safo), etc…. In short, Lucía Bocanegra has once again shown that you have no limits, and that those in charge of directing Sappho I have understood it that way in her and in the rest of the cast, it is a sign that they know how to direct. Or put another way: If you choose someone after an audition, it is because you start from the conviction that that person is not there to reproduce in a thoughtless and “robotic” way what has been represented in the head of whoever directs, but because it is trusted that his profile is the one that will best interpret the interpretation of the work of the person who directs.
Photo: David Ruano