The Swarm
T1517553619
Bees have an unconscious wisdom, which unfolds in their external activity. What we only experience when love arises in our hearts is to be found, as it were, in the whole bee-hive as substance. The whole hive is in reality permeated with love. The individual bees renounce love in manifold ways, and thus develop love throughout the whole hive - Rudolf Steiner
The Swarm narrates the story of the perilous journey of migrating honey bees through a city with their queen after she is deposed by her daughter and forced to leave the hive, taking half the colony with her. In their search for a new home they encounter a deadly extractor fan, a thunder storm and a fierce debate over two potential sites to build a hive. With just one last meal of honey for energy, how will they reach a collective decision on where to relocate? This innovative 60 minute work will bring audiences closer to nature, stretching the boundaries of choral music, voice and movement. The operatic queen bee and the 9 piece choir representing the bees are combined with a soundscape comprising field recordings and composition evoking the urban landscape. The piece explores the fluctuating magnetism between the individual and the collective, which will be expressed physically, spatially and musically.
Archive :: production:T1517553619, opera or operetta:S01629680550, venue:V01067696945
Production details
Part of the Vaults Festival
