Rirkrit Tiravanija Will Design New Opera Production For Bayerische Staatsoper In Collaboration With Haus Der Kunst, Munich

In a first collaboration between Haus der Kunst and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Rirkrit Tiravanija will design the scenography of Toshio Hosokawa's one act opera, Hanjo, conducted by Lothar Koenigs, directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and costumes designed by Yuima Nakazato. First performance: Friday 5 May 2023.

The performances will take place in the Haus der Kunst Westgallerie, alongside a presentation throughout May of Tiravanija's work in sites throughout the building, curated by Emma Enderby with Hanns Lennart Wiesner.

This includes:

• Tea ceremony performances by Japanese artist Mai Ueda, activating the stage set for Hanjo.
• T-shirt printing workshops with Tiravanija's slogan designs.
• Screenings of the artist's moving image work.
• Tiravanija's shot-by-shot remake of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's seminal 1974 film, Angst essen Seele auf, in Haus der Kunst's Goldene Bar, activated by Austrian actor Florian Troebinger.
• A series of the artist's ping pong tables, untitled 2013 (morgen ist die frage), in the Terrassensaal.
• A screening of the video work, untitled 2011 (pay attention), at the entrance of Haus der Kunst, alongside a newly commissioned banner.

The practice of Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961, Buenos Aires) focuses on the artistic production of social engagement, often inviting viewers to inhabit, participate and activate his work, engaging in shared rituals - as with his culinary performances - and actions. Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has also come to incorporate installations, painting, printmaking, video, photography, mixed-media assemblage, and music into his practice, but always with an emphasis on varied cultural spaces and temporalities.

The opera Hanjo premiered at the Festival d'Aix en Provence in 2004 and is based on a modern Nō play by the same name written by Yukio Mishima (1915 - 1970, Tokyo) which was itself inspired by a 14th century play by Zeami Motokiyo. It tells the story of two lovers and explores the borders between dream and reality.

Speaking about the work, Andrea Lissoni, Director, Haus der Kunst, said: "Our programming aims to break new ground and create new partnerships, radically transforming ways of displaying and canons of work. No one is more appropriate than Rirkrit Tiravanija to challenge the opera stage and to be simultaneously hosted at Haus der Kunst with an inventive exhibition format."

Serge Dorny, General Manager, Bayerische Staatsoper, said: "Opera, to use Richard Wagner's expression, is a total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk). To reach its completion, it must be able to combine and unite different artistic expressions - music and voice, theatre and literature, dance, light, architecture, painting, and, in a broader sense, the visual arts. This is why I am particularly pleased to be able to bring together the conductor Lothar Koenigs, the choreographer and director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, fashion and costume designer Yuima Nakazato, and the great visual artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. An artist sensitive to the human condition and interrelationships. His art fits the story of Hanjo perfectly. This new creation is a wonderful opportunity for a dialogue between a work, great artists, and the public. It also creates a beautiful and exciting liaison between Haus der Kunst and the Bayerische Staatsoper."

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