SALTO ANIMATO – an opera for the body in five acts 

The one that unmasks the existing social structures. He comments on what is usually not dealt with, and he does it sharply, dexterously, and flexibly. The sewer of laughter, the fear of the tyrant. Ever since the period of pre-revolutionary France, we call him – Figaro. Inspired by the comedies of the French writer best known by the name Beaumarchais, or more specifically by his comedy The Marriage of Figaro or Crazy Day, which among other things served as the basis for Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro, the aim was to examine which are the elements that opera buffa cannot do without. Finally, by recombining those elements, the further goal was to build our own performance material.  

Archetypal relationships and specific intrigues that form the backbone of the original plot are not taken from the structure of the opera. Instead, the focus is placed on the character of Figaro himself, and all the turmoil that takes place within him, which in its ultimate consequence results in splitting into two entities whose sum no longer necessarily makes a whole.  

This reduces all other characters, as well as their wider narrative context. In the foreground, in addition to the already mentioned Figaro, key terms such as virtuosity, intrigue, conflict, resolution and happy ending are outlined.  

The equivalent of an operatic performance which is characterized by strength, but at the same time lightness that is the result of a high degree of virtuosity, led to playing with the idea of maximum – both performance and physical maximum, within which the forms of the body are given over to constant changes through “acts” through which operatic conventions and meanings are played with, therefore building one’s own narrative, deviating from the original. 

The high degree of virtuosity and stylization opened up the space for dealing with questions such as – what would be a “masterful” dance performance? To what extent can we challenge the virtuosity of the movement? And finally, what does a happy ending even consist of?   

Idea and concept: Filipa Bavčević and Nastasja Štefanić Kralj

Choreography and performance: Filipa Bavčević, Nastasja Štefanić Kralj and Jovana Zelanović 

Dramaturgy: Nikolina Rafaj 

Music: Hrvoje Nikšić and Nastasja Štefanić Kralj

Light design: Marino Frankola 

Costume design: Dalibor Šakić 

Graphic design: Dinko Uglešić 

Photography: Neven Petrović 

Trailer: Matija Kralj Štefanić

Production: Tena Bošnjaković 

Co-production: Zagreb Dance Center