As a child, the composer György Ligeti imagined a fantasy world called "Kylviria".

"This world has beautiful mountains, rivers and deserts. A language that everyone understands. The legal system and social structure there are completely liberal and absolutely fair. It's a kind of 'land flowing with milk and honey' - without a government, without money and without criminals. It is not a fairytale land, but rather a seemingly rational, highly civilised world with perfectly functioning everyday life. There are no mistakes anywhere, no problems to solve. The entire population is engaged in science and art. Nobody has to work because everything is produced and controlled by machines. There is no need to repair the machines or clean the flats." 

 

The viola theatre piece "Biography: reset oder auf der Suche nach Kylvirien" interweaves György Ligeti's sonata for solo viola, excerpts from György Kurtag's "Signs, Games and Messages" with texts by Ruth Kemna, Michael Brinkmann and Michael Ende, with dance and acting to create a Gesamtkunstwerk. At its core, it is about how utopian visions of the future and fantasies influence our decisions.

The viola is given a voice that resembles that of an actor* and should be understood as such.Interwoven with a fantastic story and music, a protagonist* is conceived who - thrown back into various past situations in his life - is repeatedly confronted with the possibility of changing moments in his* past in order to create a different future. Various stages in the biography of the protagonist - who archetypically stands for people in the cultural postmodern age - give rise to the question: "Are these my feelings? Why do I want this wedding in white?" Each of the stages proceeds as a process of confrontation: on the level of action between the protagonist, the music - his emotional world or the truth? and a visualisation of the cultural imperatives created by the dance and the special stage set and music. And the music - does it liberate or manipulate? Is it itself free or "only" a mathematical function? Is it not also an escape from reality, does it not build dream worlds out of melodies in order to escape its own, or is this cancelled out in the moment of sound perception? Is fantasy the key to freedom?

 

A viola theatre piece by Ruth Kemna, with Rodolfo Piazza-Pfitscher da Silva and Max Menzel

 

Performances: April 13/14, 2018 - Äußeres Nonntaler Tor - Salzburg, Austria 

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“This performance is one of the best and most enjoyable I have ever seen in this genre.“

 Veronika Hagen-Di Ronza - Violist of the Hagen Quartett 

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