Obsessions

Stradivarius-Obsessions is the second of the three syncretic performances presented by Alexandru between 2011 and 2013. It started with the encounter between the violinist and Ana and Paul. Ana Pepine and Paul Cimpoieru are two young and talented actors, part of the famous „Passe-Partout” theatre company conducted by the equally famous Dan Puric. They both travel around in big tours to present their productions, often returning home with different awards.

The performance is based on a concept defined by Ioana Dragulinescu, while the costumes are signed by the well-known Romanian designer – Wilhelmina Arz.

After this lucky encounter, came hundreds of rehearsals. Although these rehearsals were exhausting, the three artists were led by the eagerness to discover something new to present before the public: a unique and perfect performance.

Having Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for solo violin as a starting point, a whole non-verbal story developed which illustrated an artist’s obsessions: his fear of failure, his difficult quest for perfection, his love-hate relationship with the object of his art, his torments and doubts regarding his creation, but also the triumph of success. All these – backed-up by the contrast between light and shadow, between reality and image projections, between sound and silence.

The Stradivarius-Obsessions Tour had a fulminating success thanks to its unicity. This type of performance was a premiere in Romania. People from 16 cities crowded into the halls, more than enthusiastic at the end, applauding intensely. In Bucharest all tickets were sold two weeks before the scheduled day. In the meantime Alexandru’s Facebook fan page was assaulted with enquiries about another performance, so the producers of the tour organized a new representation a few days afterwards.