24 Levers to Shift the World – Notes from Winterreise

A mixed-abled music theater performance, produced with the methods of “Aesthetics of Access”.

Vier Performer*innen von "24 Hebel für die Welt" sitzen vor einem Klavier auf der Bühne. Jede*r spielt ein Instrument. Sie schauen in unterschiedliche Richtung und im Hintergrund ist eine Leinwand, auf der ein Video sie selbst zeigt.

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Evening programme /// Accessibility /// Trailer /// Dates /// Team /// Press /// Downloads & Booking

How can Schubert’s songs be made accessible to people who have never been able to relate to them or have never encountered them before?

The songs from Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” deal with the feeling of being alone in the world, existential uncertainty and isolation, and eternal searching. In the interplay between the despair of the text and the comfort offered in the beauty of the music, something deeply emotional and human is revealed. A polyphonic ensemble of people from different backgrounds, influences, and experiences seeks access to a music that unites, excludes, and enchants in equal measure.

The performers transform the stage into a laboratory, experimenting with perceptual perspectives such as ‘listening’ and ‘language’ and incorporating these into the creative process. Different modes of reading and experiencing the piece intersect, collide, and complement each other – an unfinished collage emerges, aesthetically accessible in different ways to a diverse audience. Nothing is as it was. The accessibility of Schubert’s music is put to the test, just as much as classical singing itself.

It is possible that a small stage community will form on this evening as the performers share their individual stories, observations, disappointments, and hopes with the audience – a multi-voiced “we.” Perhaps even a band formed by chance.

Developed from the material of “Winterreise” from 1827.

Composition: Franz Schubert
Original Text: Wilhelm Müller

The piece is based on the original texts in an adaptation into Easy Language by Anne Leichtfuß.

A co-production by Un-Label and Beethovenfest Bonn.

Genre: Music Theater
Duration: approx. 90 minutes
Spoken Language: German

Evening Programme

To programme booklet (PDF)

To programme booklet for screen reader

Accessibility

Everyone should be able to enjoy the play. Even if they do not know the original work “Winterreise.” Even if they are not familiar with classical music. Easy Language is part of the play.

Easy Language is part of the play.

Blind people and people with visual impairments can also attend the play. There are many tones and sounds in the play.

And a companion booklet in Braille.

Assistance dogs are warmly welcomed.

Visitors can leave the performance at any time and return.

Some performances will be translated into sign language.

Trailer

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More Information

Past Dates

Tue, October 1, 2024, 19:30
Location: Beethovenfest, Brotfabrik Bonn

Wed, October 2, 2024, 19:30
Location: Beethovenfest, Brotfabrik Bonn

Thu, October 10, 2024, 19:30
Location: Orangerie Theater Cologne

Fri, October 11, 2024, 20:00
Location: Orangerie Theater Cologne

Sat, October 12, 2024, 20:00
Location: Orangerie Theater Cologne

Team

Toni Ming Geiger – Performance & Musical Direction
Leonard Grobien – Performance
Barbara Schachtner – Performance
Jonas Relitzki – Performance
Friederike Blum – Director
Loriana Casagrande – Stage & Costume Design
Valerij Lisac – Sound & Video Design
Wolfram Sander – Production Dramaturgy
Christian Herbert – Technical Direction & Lighting Design
Patrick Faurot – Audio & Video Technology
Benedikt Fuchs – Sound Engineer
Martha Lu – Stage Design Assistant
Lara Weiß – Production Management
Nils Duensing – Production Assistant
Caspar Reuter – Artists’ Assistant
Amy Zayed | Joy Bausch | Sabine Kuxdorf – Outside Eye Perspective Seeing
Anne Leichtfuß – Translation of Winterreise into Easy Language & Outside Eye Perspective Easy Language
Natalie Dedreux | Peri de Braganca – Outside Eye Perspective Easy Language
Laura Vennes – PR & Marketing / Un-Label
Nils Rottgardt – Aesthetics of Access, Artistic Direction / Un-Label
Lisette Reuter – Creative Producer / Un-Label
Kai Kullen – Graphic Design

Artists

Black and white photo of Toni Ming Geiger, a young man with glasses and black hair in a bun.

Toni Ming Geiger I Performance & Musical Direction

The Cologne pianist Toni Ming Geiger connects eras, disciplines, and cultures in his work. He collaborates with artists from music, dance, literature, puppetry, directing, and film to create new concert experiences. He has received numerous international awards and scholarships for his work. He studied in Cologne and Paris and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, and Cologne Philharmonic. He teaches at the University of Music and Dance Cologne and was Musical Director of the HIDALGO Festival Munich. Toni Ming Geiger was a fellow of the Lied Academy of “Heidelberger Frühling” from 2018–2021, where he led the Lied.LAB in 2023. He was a scholarship holder of the Carnegie Hall SongStudio, the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, the Cusanuswerk, the German Foundation for Musical Life, and the Academy Concerto21 of the Alfred Töpfer Foundation FVS.

www.toniminggeiger.com

Black and white photo of Leonard Grobien. A young man with short curly hair. He looks straight into the camera.

Leonard Grobien I Performance

Born in 1998 with brittle bone disease, Leonard Grobien trained as a screenwriter at the International Film School Cologne (ifs). As a writer and filmmaker, he has created several short films. In the film “Special” (2021), he impressed as an actor in front of the camera in a self-directed role. He further developed his acting career as the lead role of Fynn in the film “Was wir wollen” (2022), which won awards at various festivals. In 2023, Leonard played the role of Mesut in the feature film “Der Wald in mir” (directed by Sebastian Fritsch). The same year, he made his stage debut in the play “Die vielen Stimmen meines Bruders,” a co-production of Schauspielhaus Wien, Kunstfest Weimar, and Kosmos Theater Wien. Leonard also hosted the Grimme Prize-nominated YouTube channel “100 percent me” from FUNK in 2019.

Black and white photo of Barbara Schachtner. She has short blonde hair, wears dark lipstick, and looks straight into the camera.

Barbara Schachtner I Performance

Barbara Schachtner (Cologne) moves across various artistic disciplines as a classically trained singer (University of Music and Dance Cologne) and performer. Her current work includes video projects for the Kolumba Art Museum, artistic actions such as “On Foot Across the Country with Music in My Luggage” with ensemble unterwegs (documentary in autumn 2024 on ARD, WDR), and productions for contemporary music theater with INTERSTELLAR 2 2 7 (funded by city, state, and federal institutions).
Festivals and collaborations (selection): Staatstheater Meiningen; Tonhalle, Theater der Klänge Düsseldorf; FESTIVAL OF CHANGE Cambridge; Oxford Chambers Music Festival; Deutschlandfunk, WDR, MusikTriennale and Lyrikfestival SATELLITEN Cologne; Gasteig Munich; Kammerspiele Bochum; Funkhaus Halberg, SOMMERMUSIK Saarbrücken; Moers Jazz Festival; Literature and Music Festival “Wege durch das Land”; Platzhirsch Festival Duisburg; video projects (“Jiffy Act”), annual exhibition “Playing by Heart” at the Kolumba Museum; Teatro 4Garoupas Cologne.
www.barbara-schachtner.de

Black and white photo of Jonas Relitzki. His full body is visible; he wears a cap and glasses and has his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket.

Jonas Relitzki I Performance

Jonas Relitzki has been a member of the inclusive theater ensemble Theaterkönig in Cologne since 2015. Under the direction of Ulrich Marx and Sabine Hahn, he has performed in seven productions. From 2016 to 2017, he was part of the ImportExport Collective, the young ensemble at Schauspiel Köln, under the direction of Bassam Ghazi. In 2018, Jonas Relitzki appeared in Die Weber (The Weavers) at Schauspiel Köln, directed by Armin Petras, playing the role of The Village Fool.
Since 2020, Jonas has performed in multiple productions by directing students at Folkwang University and was part of the cast in the feature-length TV film Weil wir Champions sind (Because We Are Champions, 2021) alongside Wotan Wilke Möhring. For the 2023/24 season, Jonas was selected for the NEXT GENERATION professionalisation program for actors with cognitive and/or physical disabilities at Schauspiel Köln.

Black and white photo of Friederike Blum. She has medium-length hair and wears glasses.

Friederike Blum I Regie

Friederike Blum studied music theater directing at HfMT Hamburg and Applied Theater Studies in Gießen. She worked as an assistant director and stage director at opera houses such as the Hamburg State Opera, Staatstheater Braunschweig, and the Bavarian State Opera, as well as in independent and experimental music theater productions.
As a director, she increasingly focused on staging contemporary music and developing new forms of music theater. Her own directing work includes the world premiere of Ich aus Angst (I Out of Fear) at Theater Osnabrück, the projects WegWeise and WegWandel at Theater Bremen (created and performed with young people), the short opera Orpheus Moments at the Biennale Musica in Venice, and the world premiere of the children’s opera Frank and Bert at the Bavarian State Opera.
In 2023, she was awarded the Götz Friedrich Prize for her production of Peter Eötvös’ Tri Sestry (Three Sisters) at Theater Hagen.
www.friederikeblum.de