Let's keep the drama ONstage, not OFFstage

Not really much time to rest after finishing my Chamber Symphony. I gotta go back to my opera CLARA that was abandoned due to the writing of Chamber Symphony. Oh, I haven't blogged about that? Well, now I do. It is based on a short but powerful story by Seno Gumira Ajidarma (better known as SGA), the same writer who inspired me to write my previous operas Satria and The Mother, whose son was kidnapped. This opera is commissioned by Pundi Perempuan, an institution to raise and manage funds to support the Women's Crisis Center (WCC) that deals with the issue of violence against women in various regions in Indonesia. So, if you buy a ticket to see this opera, the money goes to the commissioner's foundation, and it will be used for helping the female victims of rape. They commissioned me an opera that deals with that issue and gave me freedom to choose the libretto and soloists, and since Clara is a celebrated Indonesian masterpiece of Indonesian literature that addresses the sexual violence of that period which I have long wished to set to music I immediately accepted their invitation. Apart from that, SGA has always been one of my favorite writer. .............................................................................................................................................. “Clara, or the lady who was raped" was written by SGA during the economic, political and social crisis of May 1998, and published in the wake of Suharto’s resignation. “Clara” is a multi-layered narrative that recounts the perspective of an ethnic Chinese woman who was raped during the anti-Chinese riots and mass rapes that occurred in Jakarta at that period. These riots and sexual violence were orchestrated and facilitated by networks in the security forces that were seeking to destabilise Indonesian society. Throughout the New Order (that's how the Suharto regime is called), Indonesians of Chinese background were frequently scapegoated and marginalised in the grand but fake narrative of what and who made up the Indonesian nation. “Clara” makes a significant contribution to recent Indonesian short fiction, because of the way it shows how the narratives of the victims were both denied and silenced by state law apparatus. The ambivalent attitude of the policeman who listens to Clara’s account of her rape, captures both the hatred and jealousy for the Chinese as well as attraction towards them. I put the long aria of the policeman's feelings in the beginning, with music changing constantly from romantically lyrical to rhythmical (again, Michael Jackson proves to be still very much alive in me). .............................................................................................................................................. Apart from the reason above, the strong reason why I wanted to set CLARA to music is the rape issue which I am pasting here from a recent survey. ................................................................................................................................................. A third of the responders in a survey last year in Great Britain believe that a woman acting "flirty" can be blamed for being raped. And this study are based on a survey into two sexes with equal numbers of each. More than a quarter also believe a woman is responsible to be raped if she was wearing sexy clothes or drunk. Even more women (5%) than men (3%) thought the woman was "totally responsible" for being raped if she was drunk. ................................................................................................................................................ As we know, rape is a criminal act in which the victim often became defendants. An action that is easy to prosecute, but most difficult to prove. What can I say? What can I do? Frankly, nothing. If the whole history of human civilization has still no solution to it, what can I do? The only thing is to bring awareness that rape is not an act which lasts for a few minutes. For the rapist, of course. But for the victim, it is for life. It cannot be cured simply with "Oh it will take a long time to forget but you will" or "Just focus on peace and love from now on, dear, and you'll be able to forgive the rapist". Because you won't. Even if one forgives, she can't forget. And one can write hundreds of operas, make hundreds of films, write hundreds of books, and I doubt that things will change. What I hope from my opera is just that it could be seen by enough people so that it could raise enough money to help the victims of rape, and to keep reminding us what happened during the 1998 uprising. The person behind all that kidnapping and killings, Prabowo Subianto is a very wealthy person who was very close to becoming our president, for goodness sake. He was an abominable megalomaniac, not so much unlike North Korea's Kim Jong Un who wanted to eliminate democracy in Indonesia and declared on BBC that two thirds of Indonesian people are stupid just because we didn't vote for him. This year's election was the first elections that I participated in my whole life, not only because I admire Jokowi (who at last won the elections), but also because I just couldn't stand the idea that my country would be ruled by a ruthless dictator like him. The Prabowo issue is more important for me than the winning of Jokowi ; an admiration to a politician is not enough for me to get my ass up and vote, but if my country would be attacked (even by our own countryman) or is in danger of collapse, I would give any contribution I could to avoid it, no matter how small or insignificant my contribution is. .............................................................................................................................................. CLARA will be premiered this December in Jakarta by winners of the national vocal competition "Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan" 2013: Isyana Sarasvati (Clara), Widhawan Aryo Pradhita (Policeman) and Nikodemus Lukas Hariono (father of Clara), plus a bunch of male supporting actors who act as the rapists of Clara.