MusicTheatreSamples

MusicTheatreSamples was a series of four music theatre productions which examined the contemporary strategy of artistic recycling. The piece "Life and Times" by the Nature Theater of Oklahoma (NYC) was based on a recorded telephone conversation lasting several hours in which an anonymous woman told her life story in chronological order. The composer Robert M. Johanson has adapted this material into an opera with a small cast which musically interpreted the woman's vocal tone, rhythm, speed and linguistic style.
For his piece "Global Design", Christian von Borries' had created a new libretto of "Western art music" based on texts by three economics specialists. Musicians applied via YouTube to participate in the performance.
The music theatre piece "El Gallo" by the Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes in Mexico City was based on the rehearsals of a fictitious chorus competition. The improvisations by the actors and musicians from the rehearsals have been compiled and presented in the final piece.
In "Hip Hop Hype History", Barbara Weber examined the origin of sampling which began in the Hip Hop scene of the 1970s. The performance featured German Hip Hop musicians re-enacting famous battles in the roles of their heroes, enemies and ideals.
All four projects highlighted a new quality of contemporary art production - embracing existing material, reinterpreting it, integrating one's own ideas and increasingly blurring the boundary between creation and copy, or consumption and production.

Artistic director: Amelie Deuflhard
With works by: Pavol Liska (US), Kelly Copper (US), Claudio Valdés Kuri (MEX), Christian von Borries, Barbara Weber (CH).

Venue and schedule:
Kampnagel Hamburg, 1 May - 1 October 2009