The chamber opera “Cherry With a Gold Pit” is an emotionally charged drama that follows the fate of Timotej Medoš, trapped in a triangular room in Bosnia under mysterious circumstances. Timotej finds himself in a position of waiting, much like all of us in the waiting room of history, politics, and our expectations from life. Through the task of translating secret messages, Timotej becomes a witness and bearer of a dangerous secret, while the symbolic triangular room becomes a place of limitation and isolation.
With characters like the tiny „pocket“ dog, two Man with Worn-Out Faces, two Lads with Bells instead of an Earrings, the Devil, and the Narrator, the opera explores the depths of human destiny and moral dilemmas that confront us with our own responsibility. Tension and uncertainty permeate the plot as Timotej’s fate unfolds, even though his ultimate fate is already known.
Through a complex narrative, audiences will be drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue and tension, as the question of guilt and consequences is raised at the climax of the story. “Cherry With a Gold Pit” is not just a performance but a journey through the human psyche, leaving a powerful impression and encouraging deep reflection on the nature of human destiny and the moral challenges that life brings.
“This is the cultural event of this year, and perhaps of this decade.”
(Ranko Risojevic, prominent writer and poet, creator of the libretto for the first Bosnian opera in 1977)
CHERRY WITH A GOLD PIT
David Mastikosa
chamber opera
based on a chapter of the same name from the novel The Writing box by Milorad Pavić
Libretto: David Mastikosa
Concept and direction: Ozren Prohić
Producer: Sonja Đurić
Conductor: Dušan V. Urošević
Stage movement: Renata Agostini
Piano accompanist: Sonja Bobrek Savić
Costume and stage design assistant: Zorana Klječanin
Animation: Igor Đurić
Producion assistants: Ivona Bijelić i Katarina Lazić
Graphic design: Nina Ninković Gašić
Timotej Medoš – Aleksandar Dragojević (baritone)
A Man with a worn-out face 1 – Ivana Milinčić (soprano)
A Man with a worn-out face 2, The Judge 2 – Mladen Prodan (tenor)
The Judge 1 – Albina Smajlović Tomić (soprano)
The Narrator, The Devil – Darko Stojić
A Lad with bells in his ears 1 – Ilija Ivanović
A Lad with bells in his ears 2 – Aleksa Stojiljković
Ensemble:
Marija Pilipović – piccolo
Maša Brujić – oboe
Danilo Malešević – clarinet
Dejan Trkulja – bass clarinet
Boris Dukić – alto saxophone
Alan Hussein – trumpet 1
Milica Čavić – trumpet 2
Sonja Bobrek Savić – piano
Ivana Šobot – viola
Ozren Četković – cello
Đorđe Babić – double bass
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