Powder her face

Director: Eva Hribernik
Conductor: Simon Dvoršak
Set designer: Jaro Ješe
Costume designer: Sandra Dekanić
Répétiteur: Iztok Kocen
Producer: Katja Konvalinka
Photographer: Darja Štravs Tisu

From the directing concept:
"The Duchess only sees the meaning of life in material and physical pleasures. She was brought up with the idea that wealth can bring her happiness. I see her longing for material abundance and physical pleasures as a healing of her inner emptiness and her fear of facing herself. It is probably in this way that she protects herself on a subconscious level from her own insecurities. Since all external pleasures are fleeting, the Duchess becomes a prisoner of herself. She finds herself in a vicious circle of dependence. She wants more and more. The material abundance in which she firmly believes cannot bring her happiness and inner contentment in the long run, but leads her to imprisonment, lack of freedom and ruin. Everything around her is one big lie. The glow around her is false and her reality is an illusion. Will the Duchess recognise her true reflection in the mirror?"

From the review:
"From the point of view of the performance, the Powder Her Face opera presented a distinctly difficult challenge for both the director and the ensemble, but the director responded to the score with an in-depth interpretation that completely masked the shortcomings of the story, highlighted the qualities of Adès' music and gave the conductor and soloists plenty of room for individualised expression." (Tomaž Gržeta, SiGledal, 6 October 2022)