3000 Rivers: Voices in the Jungle by Victor Gama

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Premiere in Lisbon: May 2016 – Premiere in Bogota: June 2016

‘3000 Rivers’ is a multimedia opera that reflects on the accelerated environmental destruction that occurs in the tropical forests of the Colombian and Brazilian Amazon, the Pacific Coast and the Andes Mountains. The piece is based on field work carried out in these ecosystems over the past four years and reveals the reality of the negative environmental and social impacts through the testimony of its inhabitants.

The texts and the score, are inspired by Roberto Franco’s book Cariba Malo and ceremonial chants of ambiwasca ceremonies. The opera is interpreted by the sopranos Yetzabel Arias Fernandes, Betty Garcés, and Té Macedo, with the participation of Waira Nina Jacanamijoy and Jaime Lopez Kiriyateke, singers from Inga and the Murui-Muina communities of the Colombian Amazon.

3 thousand RIVERS | a multimedia opera by Victor Gama | 2nd Act – Dos Torres from victor gama on Vimeo.

To structure this composition for multimedia chamber orchestra, Victor Gama worked closely with Colombian organizations using various record-keeping forms such as photography, video, field recordings, and interviews with cultural and environmental activists, governmental entities, and non-governmental organizations, teachers, religious leaders, musicians, and people in the communities.

The three-act play lasts approximately ninety minutes. The action takes place along the great Amazonian Rivers in regions like Putumayo and Caquetá in Colombia and Tocantins in Brazil, as well as the Napi and Timbiquí on the Pacific coast, and the Magdalena in the Andes.

3 thousand RIVERS | a multimedia opera | 1st act – 5th scene from victor gama on Vimeo.

3000 Rivers: Voices in the Jungle by Victor Gama is a work commissioned by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in collaboration with the Teatro Colon in Bogota. The work stems from 3,000 Rivers: Prelude, a Prince Claus Fund artistic commission presented at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam in December 2013.

Research in Colombia was made possible by the support of the Amazon Conservation Team and through artistic residences with Colombian organizations: Más Arte Más Acción and FLORA ars + natura.

Gama began writing and implementing 3000 Rivers, during a six-month residence at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University.

Cast and Crew:

Yetzabel Arias Fernandez (soprano | Cuba/Italy)
Betty Garces (soprano | Colombia)
Té Macedo (soprano, marimba | Angola/Portugal)
Waira Nina Jacaminejoy (traditional music| Colombia)
Jaime Kiriateke (traditional music | Colombia)

Pedro Ojeda (percussion | Colombia)
Urian Sarmiento (percussoin | Colombia)
Salomé Pais Matos (toha | Portugal)
Victor Gama (toha, acrux, dino | Angola/Portugal)

Gulbenkian Orchestra

Rui Pinheiro (conductor | Portugal)
Victor Gama (composition, artistic direction and cinematography | Angola/Portugal)
Jeff Dubois (lighting design | Belgium)
Rui Peralta (show control | Portugal)

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