The best ice-breaker for someone in a foreign place is to listen to live local music. I was fortunate enough to come across the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian last week, host to a range of cultural experiences. The first evening I visited the venue was to watch an adaptation of Jonathan Dove’s opera O Monstro no Labirinto. The…
Tag: live performance
Defying Gravity
With the ability to fly comes the potential for many great things, and innovators all over the world are developing drones to discover that potential. Let’s begin by talking about selfies, the technology of which has evolved over the years. Before the age of forward-facing cameras, we saw those awkwardly angled shots that people would…
Sphere of Light
With digital technology designed by Japanese company Rhizomatiks, Phosphere – their latest spell-binding performance – captivated audiences at its world premiere in Barcelona. Rhizomatiks are engineers who focus on three divisions in their work : research, architecture and design. This June, the company went to Sónar+D Music, Creativity and Technology conference in Barcelona, where they…
Human vs Machine
Held at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, the topics of humans, machines and the arts were brought together at Configurations as part of the Salon für Ästhetische Experimente #2. Artist, scholar and research fellow Marco Donnarumma hosted an evening of lectures, investigatory discussions and an exciting insight to an autonomous robotic limb. Speakers Professor…
A Marriage of Persian and European Music
Attracting huge and varied audiences, the Berliner Philharmonie is host to weekly, unticketed lunchtime concerts. Today’s performance marked the commencement of the Female Voice of Iran festival in Berlin. The three-day festival celebrates female, Middle-Eastern musicians, recognising the difficulties they have faced in a culture that, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, forbids women to sing in…
Embody the Music
Music is a powerful outlet, expressive and immersive, an emotional and passionate journey for both the performer and the listener. For many artists, they communicate personally and directly through their music, whether using organic instruments or electronic and digital handles to create the sound. In both cases, the musician uses a tool to help them create their music. But imagine the magic of…
Matthäus-Passion
With Easter fast approaching, renditions of the Passion of Christ are a regular occurrence. A couple of weeks ago I managed to see the spectacular performance of Bach’s Matthäus-Passion at the Berliner Philharmoniker with the Preussens Hofmusik Orchester, the Berlin Philharmonischer Chor and the Staats- und Domchor. Never before have I heard the whole three-hour piece…
Hallelujah (Ein Reservat) by Christoph Marthaler
Having earned a highly respected reputation for inventive and distinct productions, director Christoph Marthaler was awarded the Hans Reinhart-Ring, the highest honour in theatre in Switzerland. His new production is showing now at the Berliner Volksbühne. Centered around classic country tunes, the piece is random and abstract. The cast are relatively amusing, with added expression provided from a number of…
Carmen: A Modern Interpretation
When deciding to go to see an ‘opera’ entitled Carmen, one would think they are going to a great masterpiece filled with drama, expressive costumes and those fantastic, classic, operatic pieces of music like L’amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera). The Theaterdiscounter however, provides the audience with something entirely different. With an ensemble of only five musicians dressed in identical…
Elektra at the Neuköllner Oper
This energetic, compelling and somewhat disturbing show is a modernisation of the original opera Elektra by Richard Strauss. Initially written as a drama in 1903, Strauss adapted it to become a one-act opera in 1909. While the plot is loosely based on an ancient Greek mythological story of family, murder and revenge, both Strauss’ adaptation…
Emily D'Silva 