Orbit – A War Series is an extraordinary 3D audio space oratorio by composer Brigitta Muntendorf. Surrounded by loudspeakers on different levels, the audience becomes part of an acoustic universe that addresses systemic violence and its effects in an impressive way. The immersive experience is enhanced by a light choreography by Begoña Garcia Navas.
‘Orbit is a powerhouse that you can enter, that may touch you, but can also empower you,’ says Brigitta Muntendorf. There are no physical performers in this audiovisual experience – instead, we encounter the voices of women who have left their bodies behind and, as AI voice clones, circle the audience with their stories from different countries and times as ‘immortal, posthuman fighters’. These voices are based on interviews and reports from Afghanistan, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland, the USA and the Second World War in Asia.
The inspiration for Orbit comes from the American artist Nancy Spero, who depicted the entanglements of violence, sexuality and power in her War Series (1966-70) – a theme that is continued in Orbit in a frighteningly contemporary way. Orbit thus becomes an ‘opera of the future’ that does not take place on a stage, but entirely in the audience’s head – an opera that works above all on a new auditory level and makes the experience of voices tangible in an unprecedented way.
