Victory Over The Sun

Premiered: 10. January
HAU2, Berlin
webpage: link

Over 100 years ago, avant-garde artists dreamed of a radical art form of the future with “Victory over the Sun.” Now this lost work is being revived by Showcase Beat Le Mot, the Von Krahl Theatre, Maya Dunietz and the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop — an explosive interplay of sound, body and colour.

In 1913, a group of avant-gardists around Kazimir Malevich set out to break with all traditions and conventions. “Victory over the Sun” was intended to be the first futuristic opera to herald a new era in art and society. But the premiere ended in scandal and the piece was cancelled after only one performance. Only fragmentary sketches have survived. It is therefore hardly surprising that the opera lives on in cultural memory as a historical work rather than a piece with contemporary relevance. “Victory over the Sun” was and is a provocation – a dream of a universe without a centre.

For their new production, the performance collective Showcase Beat Le Mot is launching a European collaboration that explores both old and new provocations. Together with performers from the Von Krahl Theatre Tallinn, composer Maya Dunietz from Tel Aviv and the Berlin soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop, Showcase Beat Le Mot unfurls the sun sails and Braal antennas to listen to echoes of a future that was dreamed of in the past.

Artistic Direction, Conception & Realization →  Showcase Beat Le Mot, Von Krahl Theatre Ensemble, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Maya Dunietz
Music/Composition → Maya Dunietz
Music/Performance → Mari Sawada, Malin Grass, Ildiko Ludwig, Isabelle Klemt, Niklas Seidl (Enensemble Kaleidoskop)
Performance → Liisa Saaremäel, Kristina Preimann, Kristel Zimmer, Edgar Vunš, Karl Birnbaum, Markus Andreas Auling, Herman Pihlak (Von Krahl Theatre)
Set and Costume Design → Knut Klaßen
Costumes of Kaleidoskop → Annelene Schreikrampf
Technical direction → Bart Huybrechts
Artistic Collaboration → Atia Trofimoff, Christopher-Felix Hahn, Daniel Meir, Eva Hartmann, Misha Shenbrot, Melisa Su Taşkiran, Florian Feigel, Anne Kube
Production management → Olaf Nachtwey (Showcase Beat Le Mot), Jaak Prints, Anu Almik (Von Krahl Theatre)