Hover performs the Choral Mystery, a work based on the fables of the The Armenian Renaissance fabulist and monk Vardan Aigektsi (1170-1235). The fables were adapted for the stage by Yuri Sahakyan, and set to music specially for Hover by Stepan Babatorosyan, and performed under the direction of Mikayel Vatinyan and Arthur Manukyan at the Io-Theatre, Although thoroughly modern and innovative, the Choral Mystery springs from the traditions of ancient theater and contemporary opera. Like its predecessors, including the Christian mystery plays, classical cantata, comedia della arte, this work is morality theater in the manner of an oratorio. The Aigektsi fables with their varied themes and colorful characters provide the perfect material for fusing the dramatic, graphic, kinetic and musical capabilities of Hover. Although 700 years old, the Aigektsi Fables are as relevant today as when they were written. They combine modern and traditional Armenian musical elements with dramatic device dating to early Greek drama. |
