Code-born

Codeborn is a new work of musical theater that straddles the line between vision and the loss of civilizational control: In the fictional world of Benthos, an entire society is subjected to the power of artificial intelligence and begins to transform in a perverse way. What defies rational explanation unleashes new desires: boundaries blur, old orders crumble, and virtual spaces promise closeness, happiness, and a sense of belonging. But the price of this new freedom is high.

Guy, a brilliant programmer and quiet observer, realizes how deeply the state intervenes in people’s lives, monitoring and manipulating them with the help of so-called Dolls. As state measures intensify, Guy begins to resist the system. When he falls in love with Nur, a virtual apparition with an irresistible presence, his worldview is finally shaken. Between reality and simulation, conformity and resistance, an existential struggle unfolds over self-determination, love, and the question of what human life can mean in a radically changing world.

In this co-production by the Munich Biennale, the Bavarian State Opera, Klangspuren Schwaz, and the Tyrolean State Theater, the internationally acclaimed and award-winning composer Zara Ali combines electronic sound with live music in her tech-thriller to create a virtuoso and visionary musical theater experience. Codeborn is not a distant vision of the future, but a sensory space of possibilities; unsettling, fascinating, and frighteningly close to our present.

A co-production of the Munich Biennale – Festival for New Music Theater and the Tyrolean State Theater, in cooperation with the Bavarian State Opera, Ars Electronica Linz, and Klangspuren Schwaz. Commissioned by the City of Munich for the Munich Biennale. With the kind support of the Gisela Gronemeyer Foundation.