Exuberant, vibrantly colored, and unrestrained.*Bilderschlachten* exploresthe power of images. Through Dadaist *tableaux vivants*, choreographer Stephanie Thiersch—in collaboration with composer Brigitta Muntendorf (who will present*Melencolia* at the Holland Festival in 2024)—creates a powerful, passionate, and poetically evocative work. 

With 41 musicians from the renowned Residentie Orkest, the Asasello Quartet, and eight dancers, this impressive performance comes to life. They create a danse macabre (a theatrical dance that is both macabre and playful, and plays with mortality, decay, and cultural chaos) that draws on our cultural history, confronts us with a ceaseless stream of images, and reminds us of the constant overstimulation of our modern lives. 

Thiersch and Muntendorf chose Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s*Musique pour les soupers du Roi Ubu* asa musical counterpart to the piece’s visual language. This collage mixes fragments ranging from Bach to Beethoven, from Berlioz to Stockhausen. Composer Brigitta Muntendorf adapted it so that the music reflects the visual references—a sort of “sound version” of what you see.

Images: Martin Rottenkolber