OPERA. NOW is a six-part documentary series that aims to introduce contemporary opera to a non-specialist audience, without oversimplifying the subject matter. In each episode, composer Vasco Mendonça takes us behind the scenes of a landmark 21st-century work, talking to some of the most famous composers, directors and performers of our time. Thanks to this insider's perspective, viewers enjoy unprecedented access to the creative process, discovering first-hand the dilemmas, decisions and tensions that shape each work.
With a relaxed, accessible and visually appealing tone, the series shows why opera, far from being an artefact of the past, is a dynamic field of creation, debate and imagination.
Presented by composer Vasco Mendonça, OPERA. NOW opens a window onto the fascinating —and still largely unexplored—universe of 21st-century opera. The series offers unprecedented access to the backstage of some of the most striking works of our time, following rehearsals, conversations, and the creative processes of leading international artists.
With humour, clarity, and warmth, Mendonça guides viewers through stories and conflicts that reveal how opera continues to question the world we live in, engaging with themes such as politics, technology, identity, violence, and intimacy.
With the exclusive participation of two leading figures among our composers, Kaija Saariaho and Hans Abrahamsen, directors Simon Stone and Pierre Audi, and performers Barbara Hannigan and Julia Bullock, this series shows how opera actively responds to the cultural and social challenges of our time.
Why OPERA. NOW ?
Contemporary opera is one of today’s most innovative and cross-disciplinary artistic fields—yet for many it remains shrouded in mystery and prejudice. OPERA. NOW dismantles these barriers: no jargon, no gatekeeping. Just curiosity, humour, and access to a world where music, theatre, cinema, and the visual arts converge to create one of the most powerful and affecting expressions of the human condition.
Through all these themes and questions, Kaija Saariaho's Innocence and Hans Abrahamsen's The Snow Queen are the subject of two separate episodes that immerse us in the world of each composer, introducing viewers to the various issues encountered during the creative process and highlighting the richness of these two major works in our catalogue:
Kaija Saariaho - Innocence (2018) - Opera and Music Theatre (1h45) I Episode 2
Premiered at the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence, Innocence takes place in Helsinki, ten years after a shooting at an international school that devastated many lives. At the wedding of the shooter's younger brother, a heavy family secret resurfaces when a waitress, the mother of one of the victims, recognises the family and provokes a confrontation. This event forces everyone to confront the guilt, silence and lies built around the tragedy. The work does not focus on the shooter, but on the victims and the lasting impact of violence on those left behind.
OPERA. NOW takes viewers behind the scenes of the creation of Kaija Saariaho's Innocence by following the creative team as they develop this emotionally charged work, the series reveals how Saariaho has expanded the expressive possibilities of opera in her latest masterpiece.
Hans Abrahamsen - The Snow Queen (2018) – Opera (1h35) I Episode 5
The Snow Queen is an opera by Hans Abrahamsen, commissioned by the Royal Danish Opera. It premiered in Copenhagen in October 2019, then was performed in english in December 2019 at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The work is based on Hans Christian Andersen's well-known fairy tale “The Snow Queen” (Snedronningen), and the libretto was written by Hans Abrahamsen himself in collaboration with Henrik Engelbrecht.
By focusing on The Snow Queen, OPERA. NOW immerses audiences in the artistic world of Hans Abrahamsen, unveiling the creation of a historic contemporary opera and reaffirming opera as a living, constantly evolving art form.
This new series is now available on Medici.tv. Click here to watch it.