CIRCLE + The Elephant/Opera Short Film

The opera draws inspiration from the tale 'The rat catcher from Hameln' and explores themes of popular seduction and society's fascination with charismatic leaders.

Set in a children's bedroom at bedtime, the story unfolds as a dramatic conflict between the sibling pair Constantia and John. Constantia expresses her distrust of the authority of adults and accuses them of failing to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the next generation. John, on the other hand, takes a pragmatic and conservative point of view, arguing that children have never been better off.

For Constantia, the enigmatic rat catcher, Hans Mushalle, represents a liberator from adult-created wars and environmental crises. John, however, warns against such simplistic solutions and revolutionary ideas. The tension between the pair of siblings intensifies as Hans Mushalle approaches and his seductive singing coaxes the town's children out of their beds.

The composer employs what he calls “dialectical style pluralism” and uses the manipulative means of music to convey the opera's theme of mass seduction. The title 'The Elephant' refers to the well-known expression “the elephant in the room”

'CIRCLE' is a romantic opera-dance film about love, ritual and a community whose harmony can only be maintained by silencing other voices. The film follows two lovers, Paulina and Abraham, who enter a circle where song, order and fellowship are shown to rest on submission and exclusion.

The work examines how reality changes with position: what is experienced as harmony in one place can be heard as dissonance in another. Through multiple simultaneous perspectives, the audience experiences the intimate and the collective, the visible and the hidden.

At the end of the film, the circle closes like a cave around Paulina and Abraham. Through a narrow gap of light, they see a glimpse of the world outside -- an inverted camera obscura image. Reality exists, but reaches them only as a limited slice -- mediated and upside-down.

(The work is inspired by the Quint Circle - hence the illustration)

Directed by: Lasse Schwanenflügel Piasecki
Starring: Steffen Bruun, August Elmer Lassenius Kramp, Kamma Gwen Lind, Anna Sophie Lübeck, Jens Kenny Kristensen, Sara Fusager, Ida Johanne Stengaard Christensen, Sigfred Stengaard Christensen, Lene Schmidt Christensen
Country/year: Denmark, 2025
Running time: 28 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English subtitles
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15

Part of series: EVENTS JUL-SEP
Discover, among others, CPH:OPERA presents 'The Elefanten' + 'Circle', Darkkammerater presents in August: 'Team America World Police', 'Summer in Tyrol' as a sing-along with Johanna Fridell, 'Moonlight' turns 10 on September 2, 'Mord i dark' 40 years and Forgotten Danish Film and guests.