The opera Ring of Our Time reflects on, and criticises, the global extraction of resources through the lens of age-old cultural traditions and mythologies. Joining forces on this project are forty artists from different continents. Director and World Opera Lab founder Miranda Lakerveld previously directed operas like Ine Aya’ and Turan Dokht, in which classical European works meet traditional Indonesian and Iranian music. Ring of Our Time sees her continuing in this direction. The opera combines musical styles and instruments from Mexico to Indonesia and Iraq to Nigeria, and delves into the harmful effects of extracting natural resources from a global perspective.
World Opera Lab, Miranda Lakerveld, Balaan Tumaan ensemble, Sanjat Band, Oworonshoki performers, Colectivo Sujuy Ja’
23 (try-out), 24, 25 June
ITA
An interview with director Miranda Lakerveld and Socorro Loeza Flores, a prominent Maya activist and artist from Mexico, who is playing one of the opera’s lead roles.
What is Ring of Our Time about?
Miranda: “The Ring is the result of nearly five years of working with teams from different parts of the world: Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq and Indonesia. It’s about the global extraction of natural resources. We tell the story of our relationship to these resources and nature through age-old mythologies, which share many similarities. We bring ancient goddesses to life, like water and forest goddesses, and have them reflect on current times. These teams will meet for the first time in June, when we bring the different pieces together to make one big piece with all the different musical traditions.
We made this together; it’s a collective work. The different parts are all formed around the mythologies and reflect on vulnerable natural resources. Most of the artists onstage made their own scenes, music and songs. Besides artists, they’re also activists devoted to preserving natural resources, cultural heritage, or both.”
Why the theme of extraction?
“Extraction is everything; it’s the basis of our relationship with natural resources. After engaging with inequality for years, we recognised that much of the world’s inequality and injustice can be traced back to how western businesses extract recourses. It’s a major factor in creating inequality. If you’re an artist looking to positively impact the world we live in, I feel you should reflect on the places where inequality emerges, like in our international relations with Mexico, Indonesia, Iraq and Nigeria. What’s happening there has its origins in colonial times, and continues to the present day. It shapes our world.”
Socorro plays the role of Maya goddess Chak Chel, the ancient mother who ‘becomes the world’ and all that grows on it. From Mexico by video link, she speaks about her efforts towards preserving Maya identity and heritage. She feels activism and art are clearly interlinked. “There’s a deep connection between the things surrounding us.”
What comprises this connection?
Socorro: “It’s about the connection between people and the land, for example. My family and community have roots and memories that must be told. My father passed this connection with nature on to me. But now, we need to restore this connection.
“For a long time, I lived in a consumerist bubble filled with colonial narratives. I knew nothing but this reality, which was imposed on me from a young age. I began to understand this through my work. I spoke with people from the Maya community - neighbours, grandparents - and came to understand more about our history and living environment. I learned there was more than the capitalist world and wanted to care for this other world, that of nature. This is the world we originate from, and which we must give back to. This goes hand in hand with the Maya identity and language revival. I discovered this knowledge isn’t lost, but lives on. And there’s so much more knowledge about our living environment than we currently know of, which we still must rediscover.”
What do you mean by colonial narratives?
“One of the worst things about our country is that the education system has erased the Maya identity. Growing up, the Maya I encountered in school books were the ones you saw in museums. I didn’t know the people around me were Maya too! Their identity was divorced from the Maya. Art made me realise I’m Maya, heart and soul, and this motivates my activism. What they had me believe was horrendous. This is why my work stars with recognising the Maya currently.t Who are they? What do they do? Where are they?”
What’s the relationship between extraction and Maya identity?
“When you restore the connection with the land, you see what’s happening. There’s been a ‘depersonalisation’ of sorts, and consequently Maya are only busy surviving, rather than living. You now see these monsters depleting and polluting the water. For years, I thought this was normal; I didn’t know any better. Rediscovering my Maya identity taught me this isn’t normal. As Maya, you live off nature and are not allowed to harm it. We must protect it. We see extraction as leading to decay here. Not all modern progress benefits the land. My father told me we were put to work on the land, without owning it. The capitalist system took our land from us.
Opera and activism might not seem the most obvious combination. Or are they?
Miranda: “I grew up in an area with many different cultures. In my experience, when there’s inequality, this can lead to violence and exclusion. For me, it started with a desire for equality and harmony between cultures. Art became a means of finding this harmony, both literally and figuratively. The singing of mythological stories like in an opera is something you find in all cultures. Often, these stories are about our relationship with nature. To a great extent, they are connected with and aimed at the community. Unlike in western opera, people are seated around the performance area. These are stories about resilience, activism and resistance. You can also see this communal connection when you delve into opera’s history, but over time it became less substantial. We’ve lost faith in the power of art as a catalyst for change.”
“A symbol from ancient mythologies we use in the opera is the sacred thread. The Maya tradition on Yucatan imagines this thread as connecting communities, but it was severed during colonial times. The different parts of this thread remain, and there’s a prophecy that holds they will reunite in the future and restore the connection. I feel these ancient symbols are very powerful, and valuable for activism. We need a different kind of imagination in order to comprehend the enormous clusterfuck we’re in. We need art to have people recognise this and inspire action.”
Global clusterfuck
One of the problems Yucatan faces is the extraction of precious ground water by global corporation’s factories, whose waste pollutes the water. Heineken recently signed a contract for opening a new factory.
Socorro: “You can already see how the daily water supply for households in peripheral areas is being rationed. The amount of chlorine needed for treating tap water is also increasing. It’s already unsuited for drinking, but its use also causes skin and eye irritation.”
Miranda: “Yucatan and the other areas where we work are vulnerable because of being subject to extraction for centuries already. Which in turn leads to new extraction by companies using murky/non-transparent international systems. We cannot undo the past, but we can make sure that when new factories are opened, this is done in an ethical, responsible way, in consultation with local communities and without causing harm. I believe this is possible. Dutch consumers, businesses and governments have a duty to care for the areas our food, coffee and energy come from.”
How do you connect forty artists from five continents, each with their own musical traditions?
Miranda: “We build on the existing musical influences between the various cultures. For example, there’s a link between different tuned percussion traditions. Also, the stories of artists and what inspires them are similar. But in the end, what connects us is a curiosity about each other and the work. While collaborating, we found we were all on the same track; we’re all activists and concerned about the same situations. That makes it work.”
One of Wagner’s concepts is that of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘total artwork’: a work of art that incorporates many different things. In his time, these were different art forms. For us, it’s different cultures and disciplines. This is why we work with journalists, activists, artists and singers from different parts of the world. A very important part of the process was that we really created this as a collective. The work also has a strong spiritual dimension. Three powerful female spiritual leaders are part of this process: Winti priestess Marian Markelo, one of the last Dayung of Indonesia’s Kayan culture; Martha Haran and Oshun priestess Yeye Ijikenji from Lagos.
The piece was made in such a way as to allow visitors to enter the story from his or her own specific background, then to recognise elements from their own culture, and gradually see the connections and similarities with different cultures. This allows for a dialogue between cultures to emerge.”
Socorro: “I come from a tradition of storytellers. For us, telling stories is less about entertainment and more concerned with revealing things. I was immediately drawn to this project because of my interest in stories from other countries. The things occurring in different parts of the world feel like a mirror, like an echo. The result is more than an artistic project; it’s a process that extends far beyond. Listening to the music from the other parts, I feel my body and soul being filled, without being able to literally understand the words. It promises to be a great journey and adventure.”