Melencolia

Tailored for 14 musicians of the Ensemble Modern and accompanied by singers from the Apollo Choir, this work addresses the historical complexities of melancholy – perceived variously as an illness, as a way of overcoming earthly suffering or as the sister of genius. The puzzling polyhedron in Albrecht Dürer’s engraving has become a symbol for these contradictions amid the human desire for salvation. Melencolia combines classical performance with cutting-edge approaches at the intersection of art and technology and transcends the superficially spectacular.

The work has already been recognised for its innovation by becoming the first music theatre piece to receive an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica. The commission work of Bregenzer Festspiele and Ensemble Modern will celebrate its German premiere at MaerzMusik 2025 in cooperation with Staatsoper Unter den Linden.