The Giant Baby
A two act puppet-opera in Hungarian with French and English surtitles
Kolibri Theatre for Children
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The Giant Baby is inspired by an avant-garde play created in 1926 by the Hungarian playwright Tibor Déry. The Giant Baby is a strange tale, whose hero is an extraordinary child. Hermaphrodite, huge, able to think and speak from birth. The baby is sold by his father to Nikodemos, the vice president of Ethics Race and Soul Development Ltd. The entrepreneur then seeks to transform the offspring into a model individual. Thus begins a journey of initiation through which the giant baby will discover love (both family and romantic), dedication, rebellion… A busy life that will allow him to generate in turn a child of gigantic proportions.
The presentation’s atmosphere recalls a typical Punch and Judy puppet show. The melodies – as the original play – are adventurous and direct, sometimes dramatic, sometimes ironic, ready to make us laugh and cry. The Giant Baby, a true 21st century opera, is about our present times, dedicated to each and every one of us.
Show was premiered on July 3, 2018 at Muth, Vienna (Austria). A production of Kolibri Theatre created for the ARMEL Opera Festival. (The production’s recording is available until 02/01/2019 on the Arte TV Channel.)
Composer: Gregory Vajda
Libretto: Gregory Vajda and Péter Horváth based on Tibor Déry’s play of the same name.
Performers:
The Newborn / 2nd Newborn: György Philipp; Mother / Virgin / Stefania: Agathe De Courcy; Father: Ákos Ambrus; Nikodemos: József Csapó; Singers-puppeteers (voice actors): Rita Alexics, Dániel Fehér, Kármen Rácz, Kriszta Rácz, Szabolcs Ruszina, Károly Szívós, Bea Tisza, Ági Török
Musicians:
Gergely Ittzés (flute), Erzsébet Seleljo (saxophone), Balázs Szalóky (trumpet),
Mónika Baja (keyboard), Helga Kiss (percussion), Zsolt Deli (accordion), Bálint Kruppa (violin), János Fejérvári (viola), Antonio Casagrande (bass)
Conductor: Gregory Vajda; Choreographer: János Lakatos; Scenist: István Farkas; Set, costume, puppets: Klaudia Orosz; Assistant director: Veronika Vajdai; Director: János Novák