Wikipedia
Aniara is a poem of science fiction written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson in 1956. It was published on 13October 1956. The title comes from ancient Greek ἀνιαρός, "sad, despairing", plus special resonances that the sound "a" had for Martinson.
Aniara is an effort to "[mediate] between science and poetry, between the wish to understand and the difficulty to comprehend." Martinson translates scientific imagery into the poem: for example, the "curved space" from Einstein's general theory of relativity is likely an inspiration for Martinson's description of the cosmos as "a bowl of glass." Martinson also said he was influenced by Paul Dirac.
Aniara is an opera in two acts by Karl-Birger Blomdahl, with a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara by Harry Martinson, that was premiered on 31 May 1959. The opera was described by the composer with the ambiguous phrase en revy om människan i tid och rum: "a revue about Man in Time and Space".
The score of Aniara is varied and makes full use of a range of musical idioms, including jazz, serial writing and an electronic tape. The narrative is sung primarily by Mimaroben, a bass-baritone, who operates the electronic tape, Mima, the computer, and by the chorus. In essence the opera (and poem) deal with the relationship between the individual and the group through time.
Many representatives of the international press were in Stockholm for the premiere in 1959 at a time when the space age was beginning. Blomdahl said in interview that the opera (in common with his next opera Herr von Hancken) was founded on "modern man's complexity and his basically impossible situation"; Aniara dealt with "the downfall of the group". A production was mounted in Gothenburg in 1994.
Aniara is a poem of science fiction written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson in 1956.
Aniara may also refer to:
- Aniara (beetle), an insect genus in the family Carabidae
- Scopula aniara, a moth of the family Geometridae
- Aniara (opera), an opera in two acts by Karl-Birger Blomdahl, with a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara by Harry Martinson