Mugen is an multidisciplinary immersive opera, that is based on Japanese writer Natsume Soseki’s (1867-1916) first dream from his short story “10 Nights of Dreams” (1908). The piece is divided into 7 x 7 minute parts following the character’s symbolic journey, that forms the emotional core of “Mugen”, while its themes of death, love, longing and the ambiguous syntheses of time and space create a rich character. It combines surrealistic dream narration from Noh theater with time-disintegration of western opera.
In the design of the stage, four wooden pillars and a hanging beam define a space that references the typical Noh theatre stage. Two platforms and a stair extend this image, becoming a path, a graveyard or a place for music that connects life and death. In the surrounding void, the dance performance evolves. The space merges with the light and the interactive live visuals, dissolving the boundaries between architecture, bodies and projection.
Projekt
Bühnenbild
music, concept
Paul Taro Schmidt
dramaturgy
Leonard Lampert
choreography
Ivana Balabanova
dancers
Coko De Windt, Oscar Cuellar
costume design & make-up
Carolina Misztela
interactive live visual
Weidi Zhang
art design & poster
Olga Antonova
light design & programmer
Chi Him Chik
immersive sound programming, mixing engineer
Daniel Eaton, Jonas Fullemann
photography
Ardennes Fatimah Ornati, Paul Taro Schmidt
cinematography
Juan Pablo Salazar
videography
Benjama t Hess, Juan Pablo Salazar, Oliver Kimber
project manager
Olena legorova
narration
Emi Oshikawa