“The Urn” is an allegory of those big changes that we go through in our lives, and the forces that are involved. They are always the same, whether a house move, the loss of a loved one, or a political revolution. Some may rely on the inner self, such as confusion, will and hope, while others are fully arbitrary, such as fortune and adversity. Queen Cleopatra's last journey and the symbology of Ancient Egypt were perfect to my purpose; death and rebirth is the biggest change I can think of, and the personalities of some Egyptian gods made them suitable to embody these forces mentioned. This allowed me to create a static opera where everyone plays a role full of meaning. In fact, even the objects play their part, and some refer directly to the huge changes that I have recently experienced myself, such as the urn. Hence the title.
“The Urn” is an allegory of those big changes that we go through in our lives, and the forces that are involved. They are always the same, whether a house move, the loss of a loved one, or a political revolution. Some may rely on the inner self, such as confusion, will and hope, while others are fully arbitrary, such as fortune and adversity. Queen Cleopatra's last journey and the symbology of Ancient Egypt were perfect to my purpose; death and rebirth is the biggest change I can think of, and the personalities of some Egyptian gods made them suitable to embody these forces mentioned. This allowed me to create a static opera where everyone plays a role full of meaning. In fact, even the objects play their part, and some refer directly to the huge changes that I have recently experienced myself, such as the urn. Hence the title.