What kind of music does the world need?

The opera becomes a space for young people to explore their own themes, which they can bring to life on stage through artistic means.

What kind of music does the world need? What do I need—and what does society need? Starting with these questions—which are influenced by John Cage, whom we also encounter elsewhere in the Deutsche Oper Berlin’s program this season—children and young people between the ages of 9 and 18 develop their own musical theater piece under artistic and pedagogical guidance.

The focus is on participation, self-efficacy, and artistic diversity: Everyone contributes what they have—whether it’s their voice, an instrument, movement, sound, an idea, or an experience. A central theme within this project is the process of “vibration”—in the sense of inner, outer, and societal movement.

Project participants explore what moves them emotionally, what sets them in physical motion, and what acoustic environments and impressions accompany them daily. These individual experiences serve as the starting point for sound experiments, scene development, and choreographic processes.

The term “sound” is deliberately defined broadly here: voice, body, objects, everyday items, ambient noises, and instruments are used on an equal footing—entirely in the spirit of John Cage. At the same time, the project also serves as a space to articulate desires, needs, and demands directed at the world and society: How can we counter these times of “turmoil” with music (or silence)? How can I listen attentively to myself and my needs? What message should my music convey? How can music move and help people in new and different ways? What kind of music does the world need today and in the future? The result will be a new form of music theater that—perhaps in true Cage fashion—is left entirely to chance, resembles a happening, or follows a score based on established principles and rules.

Rehearsals begin in January 2027.

Registration: jungedeutscheoper@deutscheoperberlin.de

IN GERMAN