Two things have occupied the human mind for centuries – developing a formula for turning base metal into gold and discovering the elixir of eternal life. Now while the desire for gold continues, they have generally given up on the idea of making it, although who knows what AI will come up with? The lust for eternal life, though, continues. Anima Obscura is a thrilling rollercoaster ride exploring man’s obsessive quest for everlasting life, tracing the desire for immortality through different periods of European culture. Bringing together an international team of artists, scientists and philosophers, director Nadine Linning has created a multi-faceted work of immense depth and imagination.
Now, it must be said, this was not your average Scapino production. Under the mantel of the O. Festival, Anima Obscura assembled not only the entire Scapino company of dancers but the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, a fifty-strong choir, a baritone, a soprano and what seemed unlimited technical resources.
The ubiquitous black box set in which many contemporary dance pieces take place can get a bit boring, lacking the ability to create more visual impact in a show. The black box in this production was like that of a magician out of which untold wonders and surprises were conjured up. The walls were a screen onto which images were projected, giving context and creating visual impact throughout the piece. Like Dantés Divine Comedy, the setting was somewhere between heaven and hell with inspiration taken from Gustave Doré’s amazing illustrations.
The piece started with waving arms projected on the wall with a harpist the sole occupant of the stage. His almost constant presence on an instrument that is always associated with heaven formed the link in an ever changing kaleidoscope of often breath-taking imagery. He was seated on a mobile plinth enclosed in a cube frame reminiscent of many Francis Bacon paintings.
One of the recurring elements of Scapino over the years has been unisex costumes, often skirts, and one of the most powerful early sequences was when the entire ensemble were dressed in fine white dresses forming an unlikely troupe of angelic vestal virgins.
But, we have to remember that this production was under the umbrella of Rotterdam’s O. Festival. The O stands for Opera so obviously that had to take a significant part in Anima Obscura. Brahms’ majestic A German Requiem, music that offers comfort to the living, was enhanced and augmented by Yannis Kyriakides’ Ein Schemen, a digital re-composition for choir, harp and electronics. Performed live by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Giuseppe Mengoli, with baritone James Atkinson, soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou, the Laurens Symfonisch choir and harpist Remy van Kesteren, the music created a goose bump, overwhelming religious experience.
The final sequence, the dénoument, in Anima Obscura was the most powerful thing I have seen on a stage in a long time. On the side wall virtually naked figure writhed and squirmed like an horrific mass crucifixion which put me in mind of Doré’s illustration for The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto 29: The falsifiers and forgers tormented with itching. The amplified harp had ceased to be an angelic instrument and was bashing out violent discordant sounds. The figures, released from their torment, slid from the wall and the stage was filled with twisting bodies which were echoed on the walls like Doré’s Paradiso illustrations of a heavenly horde heading skywards. Brilliant.
There was some concern that when, over the past year or two, three of its charismatic leading dancers and its long-time director left Scapino, things would never be the same. In her first production since taking over Ms Linning has not only picked up the baton, she seems to have upped the pace. Anima Obscura is one of the biggest and most ambitious pieces I have seen from Scapino and the new director has set out her stall for a future that bodes well. Now, while Scapino may not have yet found the secret to eternal life, this production and its new director can be sure of a very long and healthy one. Michael HASTED 30th May 2025
Photo by Stef Nagel
