opera.exe

“opera.exe” is a performance by the Krakow Dance Theatre choreographed by Eryk Makohon, who, by hacking classical librettos, rewrites the fate of opera heroines. From the stories of Medea (Luigi Cherubini), Salome and Electra (Richard Strauss), and Turandot (Giacomo Puccini), traditionally portrayed as victims of passion, madness or fate, the motives of resistance, emancipation and radical opposition to the patriarchal order in which they were imprisoned are extracted. The bodies of the performers of the Krakow Dance Theatre become vehicles of transformation, spaces in which old operatic narratives are encoded. Humanoid bots hack opera librettos, trying to go beyond the story system loaded into their system.

The deconstruction of history is reinforced by the music of Piotr Peszat, using classical sounds (arias performed by Anna Zawisza) in a modern composition. Fragments of librettos and recognizable motifs become material for deconstruction — a musical palimpsest that resonates with the bodily action of the performers.

Concept, choreography, scenography and costumes: Eryk Makohon Music: Piotr Peszat Choreography and performance: Patrycja Marszałek, Yelyzaveta Tereshonok, Agnieszka Bednarz-Tyran, Natalia Myczewska Performance of opera arias: Anna Zawisza Multimedia and graphic identification: Weronika Wawryk Costumes: Elżbieta Kwasek Scenic cooperation graphic: Mateusz Hajdo, Scenography Plus Light: Filip Marszałek Video: Borys Dubiański Dramaturgic cooperation and production: Izabela Zawadzka Coordination: Paweł Łyskawa Production: Krakow Dance Theatre Co-production: Ośrodek Art Documentation by Tadeusz Kantor CRICOTEKA Premiere support: The Always Strong Foundation

Premiere realized within and thanks to the support of the Opera Rara festival, 11.02.2026.

The project is co-financed by the City of Krakow.

Performance financed by the European Union NextGenerationEU as part of the KPO for culture.