Evelyn Anastasiou: Rejected Sounds of the Magic Flute

The Library Project is a biannual curatorial endeavour of the Cut Contemporary Fine Arts Lab of the Department of Fine Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. It foregrounds the multimedia nature of contemporary art as well as ephemeral artistic practices that open a dialogue with the Municipal Library.

In collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Cyprus and within the framework of the events of Weeks of the German Language 2021, the invited artist of this second edition of the Library Project is Evelyn Anastasiou.

On Saturday, October 30th, the Cypriot visual artist will be presenting a musical performance drawing from The Magic Flute [Die Zauberflöte] by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, entitled “Rejected Sounds of The Magic Flute”.

The Austrian composer's iconic opera, which has been presented to the Viennese public for the first time in 1791, is not only a magical tale with many hidden messages but also an ode to timeless, universal values, such as freedom, brotherhood, and love.

Anastasiou's research on the Magic Flute led her to the archives of the Berlin State Library, where the original scores of the work are located. There, the artist discovered a series of notes deleted by Mozart himself, which were never presented to the public, as they were condemned by their creator to oblivion.

Then, through a detailed recording, Anastasiou gathered the fragments of the Magic Flute and assembled them creating a new musical composition; a short soundtrack, which can be seen as a hybrid post-musical work.

With a reference point this piece of music, and with the participation of a large orchestra, the Cypriot visual artist will be presenting a Gesamtkunstwerk (A Total Artwork) at the Municipal Library.

At the same time, seeking the tangible presence of the public in her artistic practice - a fact that acquires special importance in the current biopolitical condition - the artist activates the external space of the library, transforming it into a bizarre operatic setting, which will welcome her work.

With her Rejected Sounds of The Magic Flute, Anastasiou attempts to transcend the boundaries of artistic genres and proposes an explicit experimental experience.

Konstantinos Argianas
Art Historian

Coordinated and Produced by Cut Contemporary Fine Arts Lab
Curated by Konstantinos Argianas
Conductor Dr. Francis Guy
With the participation of The Commandaria Orchestra of the Cyprus Wine Museum in Limassol.