MEDIATHEK

A literary and documentary musical theatre for soprano, mezzo-soprano, piano, doublebass, electronics, and video projection. Libretto compiled from Unica Zürn: Das Hausder Krankheiten (1958, first print Berlin 1986, German) and Final Report. President's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, March 1995 (Pittsburgh, U.S.Government Printing Office, 1995, English).The visions and medical practice described by Zürn in her fictional text (only two yearslater, in 1960, she was first isolated in a psychiatric clinic) evoke surprisingassociations with actual methods of mind control and behavior manipulation whichhave been developed for American secret services with the help of former Nazidoctors, and admittedly used at least until the late 1970s and most probably to this day.Zürnʼ s fictitious text is being confronted with excerpts from two testimonies before thePresidentʼ s Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, March 1995, whichrevealed most cruel practice by psychiatrists employed by the CIA, in a program toproduce the unwitting, perfect spy assassin.The composed sung and spoken text levels are interweaved with a musical setting ofimprovised instrumental music, playback consisting of processed instrumental material,and video projection of Unica Zürn's drawings from "Das Haus der Krankheiten",alternating with other visuals.The musically most challenging aspect is the specific combination of composition andimprovisation. Composed recitatives and arias are accompanied by improvising instrumentalists