za - towards
sled - trace, footprint
Zasledovanje - in pursuit of traces

ZASLEDOVANJE (The Hunt)

water spirits — singers, dancers, actors — living deep in the mountains of Slovenia,
go on a hunt for eternal energies that can soothe & rejuvenate

a physical opera in progress

premiere projected 2028 Ljubljana, Slovenia

2 minute teaser

scenario

draft

An image that explains the meaning of the word ZASLEDOVANJE (which is a physical opera in progress by Ann Papoulis: 'Za' means towards, 'Sled' means traces or footprints, 'Zasledovanje' in pursuit of traces.
Text describing a story about Slovenian water spirits and a staged opera with ten scenes that depicts energies flowing from stage to audience.
Text describing Undine, ancient water spirits that dance in light and inside water bodies.
painting of White Undine walking through a deep blue mist
An image depicting a dark misty landscape with faint trees or mountains in the background. In the foreground, Gold Undine walk, with intention, pursuing something.
Title slide for Act I Mystery, set in Palimpsest, with scenes that take place in Thermal Waters and Caves.
Painting of a figure, a kind of water spirit, portrayed in gold and black painting that flows like silk water.
STILL from a film of thermal waters, steam rising up out of the Savinja River of Rimske Toplice.
Inside a large natural cave with rough, textured rock walls and a reflective pool of water on the ground.
A large opening of a dark cave, illuminated from below.
Title slide for Act II Echoes, set at dawn, with scenes that take place in a Wild Lake and the Idrijca River.
Image of Divje Jezero, a wild lake in Slovenia, with clear water flowing over rocks and pebbles, surrounded by green plants and bushes.
A clear, calm body of water reflecting the green foliage of trees above and a rock on the lower right corner. Hints of a figure, like a water spirit, made by the light.
A photograph of a river, early morning, the reflection of the trees on the water gives the apparition of a water spirit, with a head and open body like a dress.
Painting of white water spirits moving in a field of aqua white iridescence.
Title slide for Act III Alchemy, set during the day, with scenes that take place in Bovec & Gorges and on the Soča River.
A small waterfall flowing over rocks covered with green moss, with sunlight reflecting off the water. The green moss gives the impression of a water spirit.
A narrow river flowing through a rocky gorge with moss-covered stone walls and sparse green vegetation.
Aqua and luminescent white abstracted painting with figures emerging from the shapes.
Clear turquoise water over a rocky bottom.
Title slide for Act IV, set in-between, with scenes that take place in Lake Bohinj and Lake Cerknica.
Painting on paper of green figures moving through a forest of iridescent aqua.
A lake with fish swimming in shallow water with a mix of small rocks and pebbles, with a faint reflection of the sky on the surface.
An inverted landscape where the water feels like the sky and trees float and extend...
A view from above of Lake Cerknica, a lake in Slovenia that disappears and reappears with the seasons. A mountain on the right, the lake in a state of being half water, half field, scattered trees, dark cloudy sky, and distant mountains.
Title slide for Act V Pleasure, set at twilight, with scenes that take place in the forest and on the seaside at Moon Bay.
Painting on paper of green figures, some of which are glistening with silver, on a luminous background.
Upside-down very large tree with extensive roots in a sunny forest. The back of the roots resemble a figure in white.
View of a water body with rocks near the shore, framed by leafy branches and greenery.
View of a calm blue see with tall grasses in the foreground and a distant horizon.

Inside Zasledovanje (The Hunt)

on this page, you will find films, images, ideas in progress
that offer inside views into the creation of the opera through to the premiere