IQ – A Battery of Tests

What are we measuring when we measure intelligence? What exactly is intelligence? And what is it doing on the opera stage? The composer Enno Poppe and his team were collaborating with director Anna Viebrock on a thematically and formally extraordinary music theatre piece that addresses this topic.
Anna Viebrock, Enno Poppe, the dramaturge Malte Ubenauf, the writer Marcel Beyer, who developed the libretto, and Wolfgang Heiniger, who is responsible for the audio software, have collaborated successfully on projects in the past. This joint developmental process allowed all the levels of music theatre (music, text, props, etc.) to interpenetrate one another. Thematically, they examined various IQ tests, their histories, effects and the norms, on which they are based. The singers, actors and instrumentalists all participate equally in the scenes and musical performance, and can switch roles as needed. The music itself plays an integral role in the scenes, for instance, as composed street music or in the form of instrumental stage props. All the participants contributed to creating the piece, as each was responsible for developing their individual vocal technique.

Artistic director: Georges Delnon; Composer and musical director: Enno Poppe; Libretto: Marcel Beyer; Stage and prop director: Anna Viebrock (CH); Orchestra: Klangforum Wien (A); Dramaturgy: Malte Ubenauf; Audio software: Wolfgang Heiniger; Lighting: Gerd Meier; Vocalists/performers: Omar Ebrahim (GB), Tora Augestadt (NO), Rosemary Hardy (GB), Katja Kolm (AT), Ernst Surberg and others

Schwetzingen, Rococo theatre in the Schwetzingen Castle, 27, 29, 30 Apr. 2012
Basel, Theater Basel, 10 Oct. 2013 - 30 Jun. 2014