Bliss

Bliss is a recording of a performance in which the finale of Mozart’s comedic opera Le nozze di Figaro (1786) is played non-stop for twelve consecutive hours. Accompanied by a live orchestra, the artist – playing the role of Antonio – joins the professional opera singers on stage, all opulently dressed in traditional rococo costumes. Along the way, what begins as a masterful performance of classical music transforms into a very real trial of attrition that is physically and mentally exhausting for everyone involved. 

The performance was created in 2011 and commissioned by Performa 11 in New York. The footage seen here was recorded in 2019 as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Fluxus Festival and was presented as a video work the following year.

The repeated phrase ‘Contessa, perdono!’ marks the emotional climax of the original opera. At this point, the philandering Count Almaviva is on his knees begging his wife for forgiveness, which the countess magnanimously grants. Repeating this specific final act in an infinite loop that goes on for hours and hours yields a complex mix of forgiveness and subtle humiliation. The viewer finds themselves drawn into an emotional rollercoaster in which heavenly arias convey the admission of guilt, grace and redemption, one after the other, until repetition has obliterated their original meaning.

Kjartansson describes Bliss as a critical and ironic depiction of the patriarchy. It reveals a vicious cycle in which, time and again, men’s domination and missteps are met with easy forgiveness. As the hours pass and fatigue takes hold, the singers’ voices begin to crack and the theatrical illusion wears thin. What remains is a raw and meditative experience. The initial absurdity gives way to an authentic depiction of solidarity and a kind of communal will to survive on the stage.