Formally, La Vida Breve is part symphonic mediation and part narrative-physiological breakdown.  With a performing length of just over 1 hour, the show performed without intermission. The staging was static and highly controlled, creating a visual contrast to the music, which dances minaciallly with flamenco dance rhythms. 

We thought about isolation, desire, delusion, punishment, shame, cultural depiction, simplicity, texture, distance. We opted to forgo depiction of flamenco dancing and instead embraced the extended orchestral dance passages as opportunities for meditation. 

The piece shifts between emotional modalities. The tempo of our action was purposefully at odds with the lush, dynamic sweep of the score. 

Our mise en scene was comprised of:

80 light bulbs

40 Ikea MARIUS stools 

2 Ikea ____ chairs

6 roles of gaff tape