As a child, Michel van der Aa used to build labyrinths out of cardboard, complete with intriguing soundscapes. Today, he lets audiences enter alternative worlds in a different way: through his inventive musical, cinematic and digital creations. As a composer, director, and multimedia artist, he brings together various disciplines and leads the classical opera genre into new dimensions.
News
11 March 2024
Michel van der Aa’s latest music theatre work The Book of Water will will mark its German premiere on March 21 at the Kölner Philharmonie. The performance stars actor Samuel West and a string quartet from Ensemble Modern, with actor Timothy West and soprano Mary Bevan on film.
The Book of Water had its acclaimed world premiere September 2022 at the Venice Biennale. Peter Krausse, writing in Opernwelt, described the piece as ‘Ein Genialisches Gesamtkunstwerk’, and The Guardian’s Andrew Clements wrote ‘Typically elegant and thoughtful music theatre work…the integration of the live and the recorded is immaculate, the cinematography coolly elegant’.
Featured works
Performances
From Dust (World premiere)
Virtual Reality opera installation. Sjaella.
VR-Days / Immersive Tech Week
From Dust
Virtual Reality opera installation. Sjaella.
VR-Days / Immersive Tech Week
From Dust
Virtual Reality opera installation. Sjaella.
VR-Days / Immersive Tech Week