Studio Dan

“The Sailmaker’s Wife” by the Norwegian-American composer and vocal artist Kristin Norderval is a contemporary retelling of the Japanese folk tale Tsuru no Ongaeshi (The Crane Repays a Kindness). It tells of a poor man’s kindness toward an injured crane, which returns to him in human form. Out of gratitude, she weaves a fabric that brings him wealth—at the expense of her own well-being. With wealth, however, come greed and power, and the story takes its fateful course.

The Sailmaker’s Wife is a hybrid opera-theater parable in which the chamber orchestra is an equal participant in the dramatic action. Drawing on Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, created in response to the devastation of World War I, Norderval’s work responds to the current climate and economic crises and to the Faustian bargain: wealth at the price of life itself.

For the work, Kristin Norderval developed the EVII (Expanded Vocal Improvising Instrument), which enables the real-time recording and processing of the Crane Woman’s voice. The singer extracts fragments of her own voice and gradually weaves them into the musical fabric—until nothing remains of her.

In cooperation with Musiktheatertage Wien