The revelry on the eve of the great war is like a dance in the face of downfall. The Day Before takes us into the midst of this shimmering prelude to the apocalypse in which audience, performers, percussionists and a chorus of young women become companions in destiny. Homer’s Illiad, the ur-myth of martial force, is the blueprint for an ecstatic celebration on the brink.
Composer Brigitta Muntendorf, director Christiane Jatahy and writer Rosa Montero scrutinise the ancient epic of heroic male violence, following the visionary reading of the French philosopher Simone Weil – can there be a future without all-powerful rescuers? How can the hope for healing and a better future be kept alive in the face of ruin?
The creative use of 3D audio, AI voice-cloning and live camerawork concentrate voices, sounds, movement and images into an immersive space that takes on its own substance between fiction and reality.
Looming danger generates a vibrant energy, a sense of political community that makes a different and better future seem possible. For The Day Before isn’t just a warning of catastrophe but a ritual for the future – a reminder that every transformation begins with a decision. What will have been is up to us.
Distribution
Composition Brigitta Muntendorf
Direction Christiane Jatahy
Libretto Rosa Montero
Stage, Light Thomas Walgrave en collaboration avec Júlio Parente
With Sofia Jernberg, Margaux Marielle-Trehoüart, Aduni Guedes, Mädchenchor Hannover, Les Percussions de Strasbourg: François Papirer, Yi-Ping Yang, Tamara Kurkiewicz, Marius Schmidlin
Sound direction Sebastian Schottke
Programmer, live-electronics Lukas Nowok
3D-Audio operator Banu Sahin
Video system Júlio Parente
Photography, Live camera Paulo Camacho
Dramaturge Jana Beckmann
A production by the Vienna Festival | Freie Republik Wien and the KunstFestSpielen Herrenhausen.
Co-produced by Festival Musica (Strasbourg) and Les Percussions de Strasbourg.
Composition commissioned by the Vienna Festival | Freie Republik Wien and Festival Musica (Strasbourg).
⏰ Show at 19h30 and 21h.
🎫 Info and ticketing here.