Sophie (Original Opera) R&D

This was an R&D excerpt creation of the original opera "Sophie", created by composer Helen Caddick and directed by Lucy Bradford. Kamala created original contemporary choreography for two dancers for these opera excerpts, based on the life and art of Dadaist Sophie Teauber-Arp that was intricately woven into the opera scenes.

The excerpts were performed with dancers, singers and a live orchestra at Tete-a-Tete: The Opera Festival (The Cockpit, 2021).

"Sophie" will be a 2 act chamber Opera inspired by the astonishing Swiss Artist and Dancer Sophie Taeuber and her relationship with French German Dadaist Hans Jean Arp.

Artist, Dancer, Textile Designer, Sculptor, Architect and Editor of her own international Arts Magazine "Plastique", Sophie Taeuber was an innovator and a polymath, though despite her creative success and renown, she was shockingly described as ‘housewife’ on her death certificate when she died prematurely from carbon monoxide poisoning in 1943. This opera seeks to right this wrong, to bring her story, her boundless creativity and energy to greater public consciousness.

Through its exploration of the relationship between Sophie and Jean, the Opera Sophie explores themes that still resonate today; the compulsion to create, the pursuit of creativity as a woman in a male dominated world, and the tension between career success and the desire to be a parent. Set between 1918 and 1943, the piece explores themes of loss, illness and displacement, which chime with audiences experiencing Sophie’s story today. The text, drawn from Sophie’s own letters, gives fascinating new insight into her life, through her own words. Additional text from letters and poetry by Arp, allows us to enter her world and experience the challenges she faced as a female artist in the shadow of her famous husband.