In stillness, face to face with the audience, the focus narrowed down to every single expression, movement and silence between breaths. Rebecca Gray showed us that it doesn’t take an orchestra to fill the stage. Each second of her performance was rich with intention, and a courage to put it all out there that surpasses any instrumentation, as far as soulful expression goes. It was humorous, virtuous and most importantly, brilliantly composed, with a repertoire that exposed the underlying theme of uncanny dialogue and brought to light Grey’s genius acting skills.
The music was contemporary to say the least, or in her own words “off the wall.” As her consciousness jerked back and forth between characters, so did her voice. High trills, percussive tones, laughs and other simply indescribable sounds. If we were at a psychiatric hospital she may have gone unnoticed, but here at Sala Rosa, everyone’s jaw dropped.
Her collaboration with playright Sarah Pittman entitled Deer Opera, truly stole the night. As much as it was unconventional collaboration, the humour was deeply relatable and the addition of a simple bright light to separate the parallel storylines brought it all together. The story’s arc unfolded seamlessly, culminating in a satisfying moment of realization that had us looking like deer caught in headlights. With its acting, script, and minimalist scenography so refined, the piece hardly feels like a debut; it has the maturity of something that’s already circled the world.
The night ended with a beautiful instrumental piece by emerging local composers. With sharp breaks, fast sections and solos, it was a piece that visibly demanded high skill, and the performers, mostly all classically trained, delivered these crucial moments with near mechanical precision. Between screeching strings played over soft electric piano chords, and the diaphonic sounds of the saxophone and flute, it was a beautiful interplay between tension and relief. The general ethereal quality of the composition gave the impression of being caught in Studo Ghibli film and the night ended leaving us to bathe in wonder.
Codes d’accès opened its season with a resounding success, musical in every sense of the word. From raw, untamed expression verging on performance art, to the attentive immersion of an electroacoustic work, to the effortless magic of a finely composed contemporary piece performed by skilled musicians. The evening spanned the full spectrum of musical experience. Their approach of supporting emerging artists consistently yields surprising and compelling results, offering a glimpse of the music yet to come.
