VIDEO SAMPLES
NEXT CONCERT
Varese: Octandre
Itay Tiran's Monologue from Soldier's Tale
Stravinky: Soldier's Tale
'Kofadam' - the Trailer!
Matan Porat's Trilogy

KofAdam | Shooting an Elephant | Mario and the Magician
Three musical dramas for actor and ensemble
Texts after Franz Kafka, Grorge Orwell and Thoman Mann

Written for the Gropius Ensemble

Over the last few years the Gropius Ensemble has been a place of experimentation and new ideas. Inspired by their highly acclaimed production of Stravinsky's musical drama 'A soldier's tale', Daniel Cohen, the ensemble's founder and artistic director and talent-blessed actor, Itay Tiran, have maid it the aim of the Gropius Ensemble to stretch the limits of Musical and theatrical performance and blur the boundaries of the stage arts in order to create a new artistic genre that is truly a synthesis of these stage mediums.   

They have found their counterpart in the Ensemble's resident composer, Matan Porat, one of Israel's most prominent composers and pianists who set of writing a piece for actor and ensemble, which would exploit the many versatile talents of the renowned young actor and the vibrant ensemble. Thus KofAdam was born. The libretto, written by Daniel Cohen and Matan Porat is based on Kafka's short story 'A Report to an Academy'.

In this short and amusing story written by Kafka in 1917, a monkey, the protagonist, tells the story of his capture and metamorphosis into human society. But from under Kafka's sharp Sinicism and humor serifs very pointiest questions about loss of Identity, belonging to more then one community and the meaning of freedom.    
The life of the protagonist is dependent upon his casting off all memory and identity; only by achieving the end of that internal identity could actual biological life be maintained. Thus identity becomes a performance. It is not a static essence, a given, but a constantly reenacted self-representation.
Porat's unique musical language and his ability to plunge to great dramatic depth using very basic, almost circus-like material made his new musical drama an instant 'hit', receiving 12 performances by the Gropius Ensemble in the first year of its premiere. 

It is during the work on KofAdam that the idea arose to extend the piece to include three short musical dramas that can be presented one after the other in one evening. It soon became evident that the central theme of the trilogy would be different variations and definitions of freedom.  
Shooting an elephant (the trilogy's part II), is based on an short story written in 1939 by George Orwell that tells the story of a young British colonial officer who finds himself obliged, against his better judgment, to shoot a rogue elephant. It
is a chilling account of how imperialism must ultimately result in the loss of freedom not only of the occupied but also of the occupier.

The piece was commissioned by the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival and is an important step in following ideals that the Gropius Ensemble has set for itself, namely; creating an artistic genre that draws on different disciplines of the stage arts such as theater, lighting and music.

The trilogy's final piece, based on Mann's story, is planned to be Porat's most elaborate and theatrical yet, challenging the skills of the performers both as actors and musicians.

MATAN PORAT TRILOGY
Thomas Mann's Mario and the Magician is almost a literary étude, a study of the psychological mechanisms and hypnotic powers of tyrannies. The fable-like plot is humorous, aggressive, macabre and as irresistible as the great Cipola, Mann's the all powerful and sinister magician.
'Shooting an Elephant' - the Trailer!
'Diary of a Madman' - by Jonathan Keren
A musical drama, libertto after Nicolai Gogol
Fri. 18.1112:00  &  21:00Cameri Theater, Tel Aviv
Fri. 19.1118:30  &  21:00Cameri Theater, Tel Aviv
The Gropius Ensemble
Itay Tiran, Actor | Daniel Cohen, Conductor
DIARY OF A MADMAN, by JONATHAN KEREN
Based on Nikolai Gogol’s story with the same title, will be scored for a chamber ensemble and an actor, to a libretto written by the composer.

Gogol's story deals with serious, even tragic subjects: the gradual loss of sanity, the fine line that separates sanity from madness, and how insanity is viewed by society; yet it is told with such sharp wit and shocking sarcasm, that reading the story is a humorous and enjoyable experience. The piece, too, will explore the fantastical and absurd, while remaining loyal to issues Gogol raised in his story.

Following Conductor Daniel Cohen and actor Itay Tiran’s mission, this piece will attempt to bridge music and theatre in a way that will involve all participants on stage in both disciplines, thus creating a product that is daring and unconventional, yet enjoyable and entertaining.

The piece will not be written for just any actor or ensemble- it is especially designed to showcase Tiran and Gropius. Tiran, a versatile artist, is not only a gifted actor but also a singer and a player of multiple instruments; the Ensemble's conductor and musicians are creative, thinking musicians who can play other instruments than their main instrument (such as electric guitar, accordion and many more!) and will also partake in the drama on stage; and lastly the piece will showcase the versatility of the composer, who is always interested in fusing different stylistic elements into one unique, refreshing sound.  

program note by JONATHAN KEREN

*The Gropius Ensemble is grateful to the "The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund" for the commissioning of 'Diary of a Madman' by Jonathan Keren.
'Diary of a Madman' - by Jonathan Keren A musical drama, libertto after Nicolai Gogol
Fri. 18.1112:00  &  21:00Cameri Theater, Tel Aviv
Fri. 19.1118:30  &  21:00Cameri Theater, Tel Aviv
The Gropius Ensemble
Itay Tiran, Actor | Daniel Cohen, Conductor
Tickets at the Cameri Box Office 03-6060960 
The Gropius Ensemble
Israel's Interdiciplinary Group

Artistic director: Daniel Cohen