The Body of Time: Tati Helene Impresses in The Long Christmas Dinner

The Brazilian premiere of Paul Hindemith’s opera The Long Christmas Dinner gained strength and sensitivity through the powerful performance of soprano Tati Helene, who portrayed the roles of Lucia 1 and Lucia 2 in the GRU Sinfônica production, conducted by Emiliano Patarra and staged by William Pereira. The production closed the 3rd Guarulhos Opera Festival and the 2024 edition of Ópera em Pauta, moving audiences at Teatro Padre Bento.

The opera, which condenses 90 years of the Bayard family’s life into 50 minutes of continuous music, demands not only vocal refinement but also command of physical expression. And this is exactly where Tati Helene excelled: embodying both Lucias — the young dreamer who grows into a memory-laden elder, and her vibrant granddaughter on the brink of marriage — the soprano used her body as an expressive instrument to portray the passage of time, revealing with elegance and precision the transition between youth and old age, as well as the individuality of the two characters.

With minimal gestures, subtle shifts in posture, and a gaze that grew deeper and more distant as the narrative unfolded, Tati Helene crafted a Lucia 1 who visibly aged with the weight of the years. The delicacy of Lucia 1’s movements contrasted with the expansive gestures of Lucia 2, creating two distinct yet interwoven characters connected by family legacy.

Her voice, always precise, served both the lightness of the beginning and the emotional gravity of the character’s conclusion, contributing to the fluid narrative arc of the production. In an opera that deals with birth, death, and the unchanging cycle of life, Tati became an emotional bridge between what fades and what endures.

Alongside Thayana Roverso and Vinicius Atique, who also delivered standout performances, Tati Helene distinguished herself with her compelling stage presence and nuanced interpretation in a production that, though brief in duration, is vast in meaning. The Long Christmas Dinner revealed itself to be a lyrical meditation on time — and in Helene’s gestures, time took form.

Photo: Gal Oppido