«Schweben»

Description

With «Schweben», Gare du Nord opens the 26/27 season. The evening brings together two musical theater works that follow a similar movement with very different means: the attempt to temporarily defy gravity.
The VR opera «Ascension» takes the experience of rising and floating as its starting point and transports the audience into a virtual environment between weightlessness and inner reflection. Inspired by the principle of the Floating Tank, it directs perception inward and questions the relationship between reason and feeling. The search for a balance between rational and emotional self is at the center. The VR experience frees the audience through a finely tuned combination of images and opera music from time and space. Improvised and composed vocal music with hints of Minimal Music and Renaissance vocal music accompanies the virtual experience.
In contrast, the piece development «Übungen zur Levitation» features performer and musical theater maker Thorbjörn Björnsson and percussionist João Carlos Pacheco. Together, they playfully strive for balance and lightness in times of ongoing crisis. An attempt to let go when the crash seems inevitable.
Throughout the evening, the audience experiences both works at different locations within Gare du Nord. Between virtual and analog worlds, between ascent and downward pull, a tension space emerges that connects the two works and perhaps even makes the audience float a little themselves. Participants and additional information:
«Ascension»: Leon Rogissart (concept/composition); Paul Boereboom (concept/XR design); Emily Adomah, Maud Niklas (performance); Dries Himpe (technology); UpscaleXR (technical production) Thorbjörn Björnsson, João Carlos Pacheco (music/performance/concept); Andreas Eduardo Frank (concept/dramaturgy)

Highlights

• Premiere of the VR opera «Ascension»
• Piece development «Übungen zur Levitation» with Thorbjörn Björnsson
• Combination of virtual and analog experiences

General Information

«Schweben» opens the 26/27 season at Gare du Nord and combines two musical theater works. The event explores the play with gravity and offers the audience a unique experience between weightlessness and inner reflection.

Location

Schwarzwaldallee 200, 4058 Basel, Switzerland

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