We are creating
an Opera!

The Project Butterfly will go through the entire process of opera co-creation and co-production of a sustainable opera – from the opera commission to the public attendance and the sharing of the sustainable practices experimented, with a particular focus on engaging young audiences throughout the whole process. 

The opera created within Butterfly will combine three acts of thirty minutes each (one for each country), made up of three stories dedicated to an environmental theme: water, earth and air. The co-production will involve three composers (and librettists) from the project’s three partner opera houses. 

The conception of the work and the opera’s libretto will begin with a co-creation phase implemented by high school students in three partners’ countries – Italy, Poland and Finland – through a cycle of webinars. It will be followed by an International Call for Composers to select the three authors who will write music for the stories created by the students in the previous stage. Then, the selected composers and lyricists of the play will work hand-in-hand with the creative team and the artistic directors of the project within two artistic residencies in Italy and Poland. Finally, after two years of work, the project will culminate, in May 2025, in the premiere of the newly created opera in the partner theatres and online. The final production will strongly rely on advanced digital technologies and showcase the pathways for a more sustainable opera production.

The news about this process will be published on this page.

Librettos

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Selected composers

Marco Attura -
Italy

Marco Attura, born on the 13th of November 1985 in Acuto, is an Italian composer, pianist, and conductor. He holds diplomas with honours in piano, composition, choral music, and orchestral conducting. When he was twenty years old, he made his debut at Teatro degli Industri, and he was also awarded the 1st Prize at the X edition of the Giuseppe Sciacca International Prize for young scholars. He has worked as a pianist and conductor at the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale “A.Belli” in Spoleto. He was assistant to Muhai Tang for the first performance in Chinese of the opera “Marco Polo”, staged at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova in 2019. Marco has collaborated with various Italian orchestras and conducted the first performance of ‘Samson et Dalila’ in Albania at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The Casa Musicale Sonzogno and Universal Edition publish his compositions.

Beniamin Baczewski - Poland

Beniamin Baczewski, born on the 14th of May 1991 in Gdańsk, is a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. A graduate of the Music Academy in Gdańsk, specialising in clarinet and composition, he has participated in national and international composition competitions. He secured 1st place for the soundtrack to the silent film “Le Spectre Rouge” at the 20th International Composition Competition “2 Agosto” in Bologna in 2014. He won 1st place for the song “My Homeland” at the EU Play competition in Genoa in the same year. A two-time scholarship holder of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for outstanding artistic achievements, Beniamin’s compositions also reached audiences in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. As an arranger, he has collaborated with opera houses and TV channels.

Paavo Korpijaakko, born on the 15th of May 1977 in Mouhijärvi, is a Finnish composer. His production includes over 60 works, such as three operas, a piece for baritone, orchestra, and choir, and over 20 individual songs (including three song cycles). The compositions have been featured in major classical and contemporary music festivals in Finland, including Kuhmo Chamber Music, Tampere Biennale, and Musica Nova. Orchestral performances have been given by Tampere Philharmonic, RSO, Mikkelin City Orchestra, Jyväskylä City Orchestra, Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra, Oulu City Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Tallinn (Estonia). The works have been presented in dozens of countries worldwide, including the United States, China, Japan, and Argentina, as well as in most European countries, including Russia.

Digital art resources

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

SEE MORE

Latest updates

Selected artistic team

Matteo Mazzoni - Artistic director

Matteo Mazzoni is a Director, Stage Designer, Costume Designer, Lighting designer. Born in Jesi, after classical studies, he devoted himself to the study of photography, cinema, and contemporary visual arts, specializing over time in blending traditional opera with new digital technologies. 

He utilizes scenic effects, video, and lighting to create a modern and 3D dramaturgy “live on stage”, marking the beginning of an international journey that would bring his productions not only across Italy but also to Austria, Serbia, Portugal, Spain, Bosnia, Romania, Kazakhstan, and Japan.

He is the director of the Project Butterfly, coordinating the different elements and artists put in place by the theaters and partners involved. In his vision, the Opera will integrate and enhance stylistic differences of the participating countries, especially in terms of linking the stories written by students from Poland, Finland and Italy.

Joanna Borkowska - Costume designer

Joanna Borkowska is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (Faculty of Architecture and Design).  Since 2016, she has been running her own visual communication and design studio and, at the same time, she cooperates as an artistic director, set and costume designer with a lot of cultural and private institutions.

In 2017, she designed a collection of coats inspired by movement and corporeality of dancers. The collection was presented at many exhibitions and in fashion magazines around the world. Her latest achievement is winning the Theater Award of the City of Gdańsk for 2023 for the set design and costumes for the ballet performance “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk.

She draws inspiration from nature, searching for abstract forms of expression in art and design. Her role in project butterfly is to design scenography and costumes in the spirit of sustainable development using new technologies.

Vincenzo De Vivo - Librettist

Vincenzo De Vivo‘s career spanning over four decades, Vincenzo de Vivo has directed and consulted for numerous prestigious institutions across Italy and beyond. Currently serving as the Artistic Director of Teatro delle Muse “Franco Corelli” in Ancona and the Accademia di Arte Lirica in Osimo.

Alongside administrative responsibilities, he has contributed significantly to the operatic landscape as a librettist, dramaturg, and translator, enriching the repertoire with works like “Mettici il cuore” and “L’ultima estate.” Additionally, his involvement as a jury member in international music competitions reflects a commitment to nurturing talent worldwide.

In Project Butterfly, he shared his expertise by guiding students from the Technical Institute of Modena through workshops on dramaturgy and character development, culminating in the creation of an opera libretto in collaboration with the production team.

Jadwiga Kościk - Librettist

Jadwiga Kościk (artistic pseudonym Jagoda Jagson) is a children’s director and the founder of the Sopot Musical Theater Baabus Musicalis – children and youth theater and the International Children’s Theater Festival in Poland. Author of scripts and songs. She has been working with children and young people for over 20 years.

She has a master’s degree in Artistic Education in the field of Musical Art, Cultural Animation with elements of art therapy at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, a diploma of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. Stanisław Moniuszko, department of Choral Conducting, Music Education, Church Music, Eurhythmics and Jazz, majoring in Jazz and Stage Music, specialization: Jazz Vocalism, graduate of the Higher School of Theater and Film in Łódź, majoring in International Feature Film Production.

Mirva Koivukangas - Librettist

Mirva Koivukangas works as a producer-stage director in Savonlinna Opera Festival, Finland. She has had the privilege of writing three Finnish librettos (Birgitta, Räddningsväg and Tove J), all of which have already received their premieres. As one of the three librettists in Project Butterfly, Mirva is looking forward to working together on a joint work.