On the Aesthetics and Working Process of Elena Mendoza’s Music Theatre

In this paper, I will address basic aesthetic assumptions of the music theatre of Berlin-based Spanish composer Elena Mendoza and will outline the strategies of her working process in which she combines traditional score writing with a collaborative approach known from contemporary theatre or dance. I will discuss these issues referring to her two major music theatre pieces: Niebla after the novel by Miguel de Unamuno (premiered in Dresden in 2007), and La Ciudad de las Mentiras based on four short stories by Juan Carlos Onetti premiered at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 2017. As co-author of these two pieces, I give insight into our collaboration and decision-making process. In so doing I write within the methodological framework of autoethnography and participant observation.