Opera about New Babylon: Constant Tranzit by Anna Mikhailova

Top talent, composer and theatre maker Anna Mikhailova also appeared in Dag in de Branding, though she is still in the process of graduating at the Master Musical Theatre department of Codarts. She wrote the opera Constant Tranzit especially for this course. It is based on the life of Dutch artist Constant Nieuwenhuys. For decades, Constant worked on his utopian city New Babylon, which made him world-famous. He created mock-ups, architectural drawings and paintings with as point of departure a city without hunger and exploitation, but also without labour. A place fundamentally different from anything ever created in the field of urban development.

Nowadays making the right decision and choosing the right direction is essential in everyday life. Your connections to the place you live in, how you build your life by choosing the right direction and how your steps transform your present, is a matter of your choice. 

When reality is shaped by your curiosity and a man
becomes the owner of his choice…

See a short video recording of Constant Tranzit here: Constant Tranzit — opera by Anna Mikhailova

Credits

idea, music, libretto, direction Anna Mikhailova | text Pascal van Hulst, Dick Raaijmakers, Henri Lefebvre, Armando, Gianfranco Sanguinetti, Raoul Vaneigem, Asger Oluf Jorn, Constant, Peter te Nuyl, Anna Mikhailova | instrument design Neon en Landa | lighting design Andi Krijsman | sound Aleksandar Obradović | baritone Tiemo Wang | female voice Michaela Reiner, Anat Spiegel, Willemijn van Helden, Esther Schoenmakers | accordion Marko Kassl | cello/double bass Jelte van Andel | trombone/conductor Joost Geevers | saxophone Erik-Jan de With | percussion Julien Moussiegt