Isidora Zebeljan

Genesis-supported Serbian composer Isidora Žebeljan has received acclaim for her new comic fairly-tale opera, Two Heads and a Girl, which received its world premiere at the Teatro dei Rozzi in Siena on 12 July. The opera, attended by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, was met with a standing ovation from the audience.

The German newspaper, Der Freitag , has listed ten “unknowns” from whom, the say, we should expect to hear much more in the future. Among those receiving the accolade of people to watch is Serbian composer, Isidora Žebeljan.

Isidora Žebeljan, Composer & Librettist (Serbian)

Isidora Žebeljan was born in 1967, in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. Her father was a journalist; her mother, a professor of literature and of the Serbian language. She started studying piano and music at the age of five and attended a high school for music in Belgrade where she won first prize in the piano and solfeggio competitions.

Synopsis

Whatever Happened to Zora D? is a lyrical drama about a fantastical love story; a tale of a great and inexplicable love in search of fulfilment, regardless of how impossible it might be. Minna, a plain, lonely librarian, is suffering from a nightmare that returns night after night. The only part of the dream she remembers is a silver scarf, an unknown woman, and fragments of a strange song she can hardly recall. In her library, a stranger leaves a book open on a table. She realises, in shock, that it is the poem of her dreams; the author's name is Zora D.

While Bill Viola was in Los Angeles preparing for the transfer of his Passion exhibition to the National Gallery in London, Mel Cooper spoke with him. Here is a transcript of Bill Viola's thoughts about his work.

M.C. When and how did you decide to dedicate yourself to video art?

The Genesis Foundation first heard the work of young Serbian composer, Isidora Žebeljan, when she applied for the first ever Genesis Opera Project in 2001. Impressed by her talent and her highly original voice, Genesis included her opera among the projects that were commissioned in part for the GOP1 workshops in London in 2002. A segment from an early version of her opera, Zora D, was developed at that time and given a presentation. Representatives of the chamber operas in both Amsterdam and Vienna were so impressed by this work that they chose to do a joint staging of it.

A Tribute to Bill Viola for Clarinet and String Quartet

Notes by Isidora Žebeljan

At the world premiere of Song of a Traveller in the Night, performed at the National Gallery in London on 23 October 2003, the composer was present. She had worked with her five musicians to finalize the piece. Before the piece was played, she was asked to address the audience of about 150 people who had gathered for this event. The text of what she said follows:

ISIDORA ŽEBELJAN was born in Belgrade in 1967. She finished her regular and postgraduate studies at the Department of Composition and Orchestration of the Belgrade Music Academy, in the class of Prof. Vlastimir Trajkovic. While she was still a student, she joined a group of young prominent composers known as The Magnificent Seven.

Academy of St Martin in the Fields gives world premiere of Genesis commission by Serbian composer Isidora Žebeljan

Isidora Žebeljan has created a new piece for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, commissioned by the Genesis Foundation. Originally the piece was to be developed from Song of a Traveller in the Night: a Tribute to Bill Viola which was presented in London's National Gallery in October 2002. Isidora, however, has come up with a totally new composition for chamber orchestra.