Hippocampus or Lonely - Biographies

Slavomir Solovic, Composer (Slovakia)

Slavo Solovic was born in Slovakia in 1974. He studied at the High School of Music in Zilina, where he concentrated on playing the violin. As a composer, he is mainly self-taught. He worked as a violinist in the symphony orchestra of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava for five years. Since 1999, he has made his living as a composer of computer-based and classical music. His work has focused mainly on theatre music and opera. Last year he composed two operas (Cirrostratus Opera in the Boeing and Aaron Black), both of them prepared and presented in cooperation with the librettist and stage director, Viliam Klimácek. He has composed incidental music for more than ten dramas, including Shakespeare's Hamlet, Per Olov Enquist's Hour of the Lynx and Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love. His music for Endo Walsh's drama, Disco Pigs was awarded the DOSKY prize for best theatre music in Slovakia in 2001/02. He has also composed film music (It Will Stay Between Us, The Origin of the World) and is a member of the band, Neuropa. For more information, please visit www.slavosolovic.com.

Viliam Klimácek, Librettist (Slovakia)

Born in 1958 in Trenen, Slovakia, Dr Viliam Klimácek studied at the School of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava. He worked for nine years as a surgeon and anaesthetist in the cardio-vascular department at the Institute For Cardio-Vascular Diseases in Bratislava.

In 1985, he co-founded the GUnaGU Theatre, one of the most important alternative theatre companies in Slovakia. The theatre has presented roughly thirty original contemporary plays, the majority of them written by Klimácek. He is the theatre's artistic director and is also a director, actor and from time to time musician. His plays include Democrats (1996, Slovak National Theatre, 1997; Slovak Literary Fund prize);Eva Tatlin (Bolshevik Airships Arrive) (1996, 2nd prize, A. Radok Foundation, Prague); Axes have Come into Bloom (2001, Slovak National Uprising Theatre Martin; winner of the Drama 2000 Competition); Tchekhov the Boxer (2000, 2nd prize, A. Radok Foundation, Prague; best Czech and Slovak play 2000), Comics (2003, Mittelfest, Cividale, Italy); Hypermarket (2002, 2nd prize, A. Radok Foundation, Prague; best Czech and Slovak play 2002).

He has received a variety of prizes at home and abroad, published seven books of poetry and prose, and also writes for television and radio. His books include a collection of fairy tales, Leg to Leg (Noha k nohe) (1996, Janusz Korczak Prize); Maria Sabina (seven plays) (1997, Slovak Literary Fund prize); the novel Vanya Krutov (1999); and GUnaGU Remix (2000, Association of Slovak Writers prize).

All photos by Julian Brooks unless indicated.