Aqua

Aqua is a meditation on water and its importance to humanity. Its libretto is built from myth: the Kalevala's song of the world born from water, alongside other creation stories from the Babylonian Enūma Eliš onward, all circling one question: why do we destroy what we ourselves have brought into being?

The work grew out of a shared wish to give the opera singer more agency on stage. Motion-sensing cameras, interactive hologram projections, four-channel surround sound and immersive light all respond to the singer's voice and movement, so that she can steer the performance as it unfolds — a symbol of the choices each of us can make.

In November 2024 Aqua toured the archipelago of Åboland (Turunmaa), performed in the medieval stone churches of Korpo and Nagu. Water was projected across the whole of the vaulted ceilings, ribbons of light ran along the ribs, and imagery fell directly onto the singer's face and body. The church itself became part of the instrument.