Der geheimnisvolle Koffer von Herrn Benjamin

In the organizer's words:

Maura, Rafo and Piz are border researchers. In their border laboratory, they investigate, observe and research together with the audience. They use their perception, their imagination and the Grenzoskopophon - a sensor that can detect gaps and cracks in borders. With the
Grenzoskopohon, Rafo examines the border between inside and outside, while Maura is on the trail of other lines, the so-called lines of sight. When Piz takes over the Grenzoskopophon, the researchers approach a mountain range, which is probably also a border. Which came first, the mountain or the border?

On the border, the mountains hum, melodies are heard and an object from the past is uncovered: The mysterious suitcase of a certain Mr. Benjamin. Hidden in the suitcase is the most important thing Benjamin owns. At least that's what the suitcase itself claims. Because although it has no feet, the most important thing has to cross the border. He doesn't know exactly what's inside. But he remembers that Mr. Benjamin philosophized about words and would have tied the border into a pair of glasses to look through it into the past.

As in this metaphor, Piz, Rafo and Maura also climb through the object itself into the past. Lisa Fittko's voice is heard. The woman who showed not only Benjamin but many other people the way across the Pyrenees saved many people from the Nazis in the 1940s. This find from a bygone era is encouraging: Lisa Fittko put up resistance! Even today's borders are not always open. Even today, it is difficult for some people to cross borders. Sometimes borders are not just mountains, but much more than that.

DER GEHEIMNISVOLLE KOFFER VON HERRN BENJAMIN invites you to question, listen to and explore borders with a sound composition and interactive sound art. Like the philosophy of Walter Benjamin himself, the libretto not only turns the words around, but also opens up the space to experience new realities and shift boundaries.