After a spectacular season opener at the Charlottenburg municipal swimming pool, director Ariane Kareev and her team return to combine artistry, real-time visuals and techno with opera to celebrate the end of the Tischlerei season. New this time around: performer, composer and drag queen Shlomi Moto Wagner. As an associative collage, EMERSION explores concepts of coexistence and negotiates queer-feminist urban utopias that focus on mutual acceptance and balance with the natural environment.

While IMMERSION in September 2024 literally invited visitors to dive in and connect with each other, EMERSION takes the idea of togetherness further. The term stands for emergence, describing in geology the rising of land masses from the sea and in astronomy the emergence of a moon from the shadow of its planet. On the one hand, these processes symbolise that every change also holds potential; on the other hand, they represent the revelation of what was previously hidden – both aspects are reflected in the concept.

At the performative centre of the search for new models of community is the interplay between different forms of representation and multimedia tools, as well as their mutual interaction. Phil Hagen Jungschlaeger's reactive visualisations make sound and movement visually tangible, illustrating the geological and climatic effects of humans on the Earth's system and contrasting aerial photographs of landscapes with urban architecture. Urban accents also define Petra Schnakenberg's stage design, while the costumes combine body hair with extravagant styling, thereby questioning conventions and gender stereotypes. Known as a drag queen under the name Mazy Mazeltov, Shlomi Moto Wagner ritually leads the evening. The trained opera singer composed new songs especially for EMERSION, enriching pop with classical music, which will be premiered by orchestra and ensemble members of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In dialogue with this, Lasse Winkler, DJ name ACUD, combines beats with baroque music and grand opera with atmospheric electronics in his arrangements. He experiments with the mutual influence of sound and movement together with choreographer Josa Kölbel and artists Imogen Huzel and Vejde Grind, who uses his Cyr Wheel not only as an acrobatic device but also as a musical instrument. The result is a cross-genre experience that appeals to all the senses through its interactive effect and invites reflection on new forms of coexistence.