Pygmalia creates the ideal man for herself. As the title character in Manos Tsangaris' musical theater piece, she is also conveniently a video artist. And a sculptor, analogous to her mythological role model Pygmalion, who fell in love with his own work so much that Venus, the goddess of love, took pity and brought the statue to life. The world premiere of the piece, which thus transfers an old subject into the present, is scheduled for February 3 in the Mozart Hall of the Alte Oper. The rehearsals for all those involved, light and video artists, the two singers and the musicians of the Ensemble Modern are under difficult conditions: in the rather cramped attic hall of the German Ensemble Academy.

"I don't see the others," says pianist Hermann Kretzschmar behind a pillar.

Others feel the same way.

For this reason, violinist Jagdish Mistry takes on the role of conductor that was not actually intended for this rehearsal.

Manos Tsangaris, composer of light, sound and scene as well as lyricist and director, explains the connections and is quite satisfied with the results.

Why doesn't he actually want the support of a conductor?

"Because I wrote the piece as a collection of duets.

The duo partners should coordinate directly with each other," he explains.

Music theater with aspects of an installation

At the end of the rehearsal day, which is perhaps precisely why it was so intense, Tsangaris treats himself to a beer in the station district.

He can't eat anything yet.

He's still too busy for that.

Because during the prescribed ventilation breaks during rehearsals in the attic hall, there were repeated phone calls about the Munich Biennale, the festival for new music theater founded by Hans Werner Henze, which he has artistically directed together with Daniel Ott since 2016.

But he's open to a conversation. "I never thought I would become a composer," chats the man who was born in Düsseldorf in 1956 and whose activities as a poet, composer, installation and performance artist often merge seamlessly. Originally, he studied at the same time at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and at the Cologne Music Academy, where, in addition to drums, he also studied new music theater with Mauricio Kagel.

Whoever got to know the “you side” first is now presented with the “he side” and vice versa.

It's about a real change of perspective, after which the story is very different.

"I'm interested in the question of how we generate our ideas of reality," emphasizes Manos Tsangaris. "We don't take it one to one. A small child initially sees the world upside down. It senses its surroundings and creates a context that corrects the image.” Ideally, this principle continues throughout life. It is no coincidence that the children's game "I see something that you don't see" - in the more sonorous English version "I spy with my little eye" - is part of this piece: "In this game, perception is compared, intersubjectivity is created," says Tsangaris.

“I basically think of music theater as a forum in which models of reality and existence can be tried out.

In Pygmalia everyone is present as physical beings in a real space.

The two audiences see each other beyond the musicians.

This enables a much more extensive form of perceptual references than, for example, a film or a proscenium stage.” Sound director Lukas Nowok, currently a scholarship holder of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), makes announcements for orientation: not only the musicians, but also the audience should know very precisely , which part of the piece they are on.

If they encounter this part a second time after the change of perspective, they can compare their two impressions.

Is it actually working out between Pygmalia and her design man?

Manos Tsangaris is evasive: “Pygmalia is in many respects a continuation of my 2018 'Abstract Pieces'. In it I have rewritten the Orpheus saga in such a way that Orpheus succeeds in leading his beloved deceased Eurydice out of the realm of the dead.

But the happy life as a couple does not last long.

Eurydice soon has enough of him and leaves him.

Being in love is not enough to cope with everyday life,” says Tsangaris.

And he adds: "It's no coincidence that millions of people look for their partners on the Internet rather than among people they know: only what is far enough away for us to project can meet ideal requirements." The question remains only whether Pygmalia's self-made dream man is an exception.

The world premiere begins on February 3 at 7 p.m. in the Alte Oper.

A repeat will follow the same evening from 9 p.m.