The global financial crisis hit the world over ten years ago. The economy has recovered but it's hard to forget those difficult times. Composer Dr Eugene Birman, Assistant Professor from the Department of Music at HKBU, joined hands with librettist Mr Scott Diel to create an opera based on a dispute on the financial crisis. It became the first-ever opera to discuss financial issues. Since the dispute happened on social media, it is also regarded as the first "twitter opera".

 

Dr Eugene Birman

 

The opera, Nostra Culpa, is based on a row on social media between the then Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and the Nobel Prize-winning United States economist Paul Krugman on the austerity measures during the financial crisis in the late 2000s.

 

Dr Birman has first-hand experience of the financial crisis. When the crisis unfolded, he was studying economics in Columbia University in New York, where Wall Street is located. "In the past, many investment banks and financial services companies would come to the university and recruit fresh graduates, but with the housing crash, nobody came anymore. There were simply no jobs. The hopes, ideas, careers and financial prospects disappeared almost overnight," he recalled with a bitter smile. The financial crisis haunted many people, well after the peak of the crisis.

 

Dr Birman and librettist Mr Scott Diel (right)

 

Dr Birman rehearses Nostra Culpa in Tallinn, Estonia in 2013 (Associated Press)

 

The Tallinn Chamber Orchestra rehearses Nostra Culpa before the premiere with Estonian conductor Mr Risto Joost (rear left) and soprano Ms Iris Oja (rear right) (Associated Press)

 

"Our fault"

After ten years passed, Dr Birman wanted to find a way to talk about the crisis, which he considers an important moment in world history. At that time, he was working with Mr Diel on a music piece for Estonian Music Days, Estonia's leading music festival. They hoped to create a piece that would be "both universal and personal". It was during that time that the "Twitter war" came into sight.

 

Dr Birman and Mr Diel eventually produced the 16-minute Nostra Culpa. The opera title is Latin and means "our fault", which was the remark made sarcastically by the President in his reply on who bears the responsibility of causing the financial crisis. Dr Birman explains that conflict emerged between big countries and smaller countries regarding the handling of the crisis, with a tendency for the US and other powerful countries to lecture the smaller countries because their experts thought that they knew better, even if those same experts have not visited Estonia before. Dr Birman emphasises that there isn't one solution that is suitable for all. "The small countries usually do not have a way to respond. However, in this case, the (former) President of Estonia decided to speak up."

 

Open to interpretation

There are only two characters in Nostra Culpa—the economist and the president. Both these roles were played by Estonian mezzo- soprano Ms Iris Oja. Dr Birman emphasises that they stayed faithful to the original text in twitter and blog posts. They did not change anything, and did not add any rhetoric or rhyme. "If you want something to be impactful, you have to give it the room to speak for itself. It doesn't need to be dressed up, it's already interesting."

 

The music of Nostra Culpa is also unique. The opening seconds sound like glass shattering, which Dr Birman explains is a representation of the shattering of the global financial market. Like the music, "it happened quickly, but the consequences can go on for a very long time." For the part when the economist talks about deflation, the duo found a way to "deflate" the music, so that all musicality is lost.

 

The words and the music in Nostra Culpa are neutral, allowing listeners to easily interpret it either way. "We have a discussion on how people misrepresent or misunderstand. It is just like social media, you can easily take something from it and use it." Regardless of which side the listeners take, they think this opera is agreeing with their philosophy and applauding them. Dr Birman thinks this is an interesting way to talk about the financial crisis.

 

Ms Oja takes on the role of both protagonists (BBC News)

 

Publications in the Baltic States on Nostra Culpa

 

Sparking discussions around the world

As the first "financial opera" in classical music history, the premiere of Nostra Culpa in 2013 received wide media coverage, including articles by renowned media outlets Reuters, BBC, CNN, CBC and Le Monde. Nostra Culpa has since been performed in Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Italy to thousands of people.

 

Prior to the premiere of Nostra Culpa, only international publications had discussed the debate between Krugman and President Ilves. After the premiere, the story became an international phenomenon. BBC World even made a TV documentary on the story. Estonian media was abuzz with discussions on the opera and the story that inspired it. SIRP, the leading Estonian cultural journal, called the piece "electrifying and earth-shaking" and asked the question, "Is our society more sharply seen from the outside? Or is the outsider simply more courageous to point out what is wrong?" The opera piece has stimulated discussion on the issue within and beyond Estonian society. As an Estonian herself, Ms Oja says, Nostra Culpa has created a"great impact on [the] whole [of ] Estonian history" and it "defines modern Estonian traditions".

 

At one stage, Nostra Culpa was on CNN primetime, with an average of 767,000 viewers per night, and BBC World, which reaches 400 million viewers across the world every week. The opera was later streamed online as well. Supported by HKBU Knowledge Transfer Office, CD copies of Nostra Culpa is now on pre-release to respected and influential journalists and musicologists before a wider public release. Nostra Culpa was recorded by the professional Italian orchestra ContempoArtEnsemble and conducted by Professor Nils Schweckendiek, Artistic Director of the Helsinki Chamber Choir and Professor at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts, Helsinki. Prof Schweckendiek praises the creative piece, saying "in his musical setting, (Dr) Birman acknowledges the immediate, raw emotions engendered by these matters, but gradually moves them to a timeless, philosophical level. The listener experiences a cathartic journey from angst, cynicism, even rage, to transcendence and redemption." According to Dr Birman, 2,000 CD copies will be released for the first stage, in seven places including Hong Kong. Even before its publication, news of the recording has already led to planned Nostra Culpa premieres in Argentina and Finland and renewed focus on the issue in the Baltic States, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The piece will also be released on popular music streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music.

 

Future work on local issues

Dr Birman is now working on two new projects related to Hong Kong issues. One of them is being produced in collaboration with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, with air pollution as the main theme. The other project will focus on the problem of continuous reclamation. In line with the key concept of "we create Atlantis", this opera will be staged on barges, which are frequently used in reclamation. Unlike Nostra Culpa, Dr Birman says this opera will be more poetic and its core message will be more implicit. He also described this project as a "tech opera", since it attempts to integrate technological elements in classical opera. Singers will all wear smart clothing made of e-textiles, which enable images to be projected onto their surface. Dr Birman considers this a great example of art meeting technology.