The texts of E.T.A. Hoffmann—who was not only a writer but also a composer—are full of musical imagery and visual stimuli. These served as inspiration for composers to create new works based on the dark and eerie collection of stories Nachtstücke (Night Pieces), which includes the famous The Sandman.

Based on this music, visual artist Robin Beer creates real-time projections using small paper-cut objects, gears, or his own hands. Projected onto the stage, these images create a play of light and shadow, interacting with both the space and the musicians. Hoffmann’s radical imagination ignites unexpected sounds and visuals. His fixation on sublime love and the mechanical parts of an automaton, visions of butterflies trapped in harpsichords and death sighs, as well as the indelible obsession with the image of the human eye, are omnipresent in the production.

“The theater concert ‘The Sandman’ […] is a wonderful form, full of passion for creative craftsmanship at the boundaries between genres.” – Daniel Conrad, Luxemburger Wort

Program:

• J. Varga: Nachtstücke (2022)
• G. Resch: Doubles (2022)
• N. Lobo: Aus dem öden Haus kam die Hexadactyl Hand (2023)
• B. Bongers: Bis die Sonne aufgeht… (2023)