Ragnar Kjartansson: Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen: Volkstheater Wien, Vienna, Austria

An overly romantic, theatrical, dramatic, minimalist, musical spectacle – in search of a past dead world to find something new.

Just as the title suggests, DER KLANG DER OFFENBARUNG DES GÖTTLICHEN (The Explosive Sonics of Divinity) is above all a musical production, a symphony with tableaux vivants. Based on the novel THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD by Icelandic Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson embarks on a journey into the past of theatre. At the center of Laxness' novel is a poor poet in search of artistic fulfillment and in search of a perhaps impossible-to-find absolute beauty.

Kjartan Sveinsson, founding member of famous Icelandic post-rock legends Sigur Rós, exclusively wrote a composition for a large orchestra and a choir. The production is in the tradition of Pictorial Music Plays invented by Sir Hubert von Herkomer, a British-German painter, musician, and theater producer at the end of the 19th century. He had a vision of detaching theater from drama. The text of the play was replaced by ceremony and spoken word was replaced by song. Only the essence was left: a feeling.