An ancient Greek myth tells how the nymph Arethusa became water: escaping rape, she dissolved into a stream and, vanishing through the earth, reemerged as a scared fountain. "After Arethusa", an original text by Cordelia Lynn, is a retelling of the myth that imagines a consensual rather than a violent realm for the moment of metamorphosis, playing on notions of fluidity and liquidity to create a sensual description of physical love. 

In her setting, Sivan Eldar situates the choir as observers who muse on Arethusa’s transformation, echoing Lynn’s themes. As the musings turn intimate, Lynn’s main text emerges as the story told through the voice of Arethusa herself.

Sivan Eldar - "After Arethusa" (commissioned by Accentus choir and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie)
For mixted choir & electronic device

World premiere: February 27, 2020 - Concert without audience
Opéra Berlioz / Le Corum - Montpellier
Chœur de l’Opéra national Montpellier Occitanie
Noëlle Gény, conductor
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Italian premiere: September 24, 2021 
Venice Biennale - Alle Tese Theatre
Accentus choir
Marcus Creed, conductor
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French premiere: November 18, 2021 
Chapelle Corneille - Rouen
Chœur Accentus
Marcus Creed, conductor
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November 19, 2021 
Auditorium du Musée du Louvre - Paris
Chœur Accentus
Marcus Creed, conductor
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Watch the composer's interview about the work