“Prima Donna” – an extraordinary monoopera where theatre and opera merge into an intimate story about the inner voice, choices, and emotional courage of a human being. Seeking to go beyond the boundaries of a simple musical performance and reach a deeper level of audience perception, the show begins not on stage – it begins in the dressing room, where the soloist faces not the gaze of the audience, but herself.
Unlike a traditional concert, here the audience becomes a silent wall – allowing them to hear what is born in the heart and turns into music through voice. This dialogue between the soloist and silence is an invitation to a deeper, more authentic encounter with oneself.
The plot does not follow a clearly defined action but moves through seven different characters – operatic heroines whose voices shape the soloist’s inner dialogue.
- Giuditta – the voice of courage and passion, asking: “Would you dare to choose passion when no one applauds?”
- Esmeralda – the spirit of freedom, inviting you to move and not be afraid to be yourself.
- Lauretta teaches how to say “I want” without guilt or limitations.
- Musetta – a playful image questioning: to be seen, but not performed.
- Cleopatra – the voice of will and self-worth, saying: “Don’t prove. Just be.”
- Marguerite questions how much guilt limits us and how to let it go.
- Undine, the deepest of all, invites you to dive into yourself – even if the water is cold.
The performance draws on musical works from Baroque to Romanticism and 20th-century classics – from Handel and Lehár to Puccini and Dvořák – yet their harmony here is not only aesthetic but philosophical: each melody marks one step into the soloist’s inner world. Music becomes not just a sound experience but a space for inner transformation.
Through monologues, songs, and moments of silence, the soloist journeys from feeling to understanding: What remains when you wipe off the makeup? What speaks when the role disappears? Is the voice we use truly ours, or dictated by someone else?
“Prima Donna” is not just a performance, music, or a display of vocal virtuosity. First and foremost, it is an intimate meeting with oneself – an invitation to hear what is often drowned out by noise, roles, and the voices of everyday life.
PLOT
Prologue. A Letter to Self
Before setting out on the journey through the characters, an unsent letter to oneself is heard. It contains simple but essential reminders: “make space for yourself,” “learn to say no,” “come back with ‘I want.’” It serves as a key to the performance, inviting the audience to understand that this story is not about perfection, but about the courage to be yourself.
Beginning
The soloist addresses a wall as if it were the most reliable interlocutor—one that does not praise, lie, or judge. In this scene, the dressing room turns into a kind of battlefield: first the face is painted, and then an attempt is made to wipe away what hurts. A turning point occurs here—the silence that once caused fear becomes a space where it is possible to simply be.
Giuditta
Giuditta carries the scent of travel and the courage to choose “desire” over “security.” She challenges the soloist with the question: “Would you dare to choose passion if no one applauded?” This part tells of the inner conflict between “proper” stability and an irresistible longing. Giuditta is the voice that urges one to allow oneself to want.
Kunigunda
She speaks about the inner excess of a person—all that accumulates over a lifetime and that we do not always find the strength to release. In this scene, layers of the past unfold: childhood traumas, mistakes, doubts, resentments, unfulfilled dreams. These are things we carry within us as if they were чужие, yet always present beside us. This part is about the desire to shed what weighs us down, even attempting to give it away to others: “Please, take it, I’m giving it away for free.”
Esmeralda
Esmeralda arrives with rhythm and wind. Her freedom is stormy and often condemned. She reminds us: “don’t sell yourself for the sake of peace.” This segment is about the courage to be and to want, even when it is disapproved of. Esmeralda restores movement to the body and the right to choose to the soul.
Lauretta
Lauretta is the smallest voice, pure as water in a glass. She teaches how to ask simply—without guilt, justification, budgets, or schedules. The soloist tries to say “I want” quietly, almost without sound, as if learning to speak again. This part reflects how adults forget to ask for themselves, and how love turns into paperwork, when in truth it is the desire to live from the heart.
