Jannis Varelas
Costume design for Vergeigt
May 26, 2023–June 16, 2023Theatre Basel, Basel
In their first ever collaboration, director Herbert Fritsch, the exceptional violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and the visual artist Jannis Varelas create a neo-Dada world that transcends the boundaries of genre. Actors, opera singers and instrumentalists form an anarchic ensemble. Gestures, lyrics and instrumental virtuosity offer the perfect soundscape for physical theatre full of bold vocal experiments and jam sessions of cohesive sounds.
In cooperation with Art Basel.
The Greek artist Jannis Varelas was born in Athens in 1977. After studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts as well as the Royal College of Art in London, he now lives and works between Athens and Los Angeles. With his works, Varelas goes back to the images of the human body. He explores the form and cultural representations of the human figure and its psychological landscape. The artist stages his models and uses objects, costumes, and interior-like spaces that he reconstructs in his studio as indicators of narrative and identity. Works by Jannis Varelas are held in major private and institutional collections, including the Saatchi Collection (London), the Dakis Joannou Collection (Athens), the Zabludowicz Collection (London), The Onassis Foundation Collection (New York), and The Hort Family Collection (New York). Selected solo exhibitions and projects include: ‘Black Frames’ (Olympic Tower Atrium, New York, 2017), ‘New Flags for a New Country – Destroy Elvis’ (Onassis Stegi, Athens, 2016), ‘New Flags for a New Country’ (The Breeder, Athens, 2015), ‘Sleep My Little Sheep Sleep’ (Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012) or ‘Blue Soldier – Opera Costumes’ (The Breeder, Athens, 2009). In Herbert Fritsch’s ‘Vergeigt’ Jannis Varelas is engaged at Theater Basel in the season 2022/23.
Artistic team
Inszenierung und Bühne – Herbert Fritsch
Kostüm – Jannis Varelas
Lichtdesign – Cornelius Hunziker
Dramaturgie – Meret Kündig
Cast
Reto Bieri
Wolfram Koch
Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Annika Meier
Christopher Nell
Jasin Rammal-Rykała
Carol Schuler
Hubert Wild
