Brainlab Becomes a Partner of the Bayerische Staatsoper

Munich-based pioneer of digital medical technology becomes innovation partner of the Bayerische Staatsoper from 2023 onwards

Munich, March 23, 2023—New inspiration for the flagship of Munich’s cultural scene: For the first time in 2023, the company Brainlab will become an innovation partner and thereby also a sponsor of the Bayerische Staatsoper’s newly created “Ja, Mai” Festival, which launched in 2022. For both partners, the goal of this cooperation is to jointly establish innovative event formats at the intersection of art, technology, science and research. As a pioneer in the field of digital medical imaging, Brainlab can provide exceptional impetus for digital cultural formats. With this creative partnership, the Munich-based company adds another impressive facet to its ongoing commitment to art and music as part of its Brainlab Culture Program.

“In my view, creativity and analytical skills are mutually dependent and are central to every innovation. That is why art and culture have always played a significant role at Brainlab – and are, on a personal level, very close to my heart,” commented Stefan Vilsmeier, founder and CEO of Brainlab. “We are thrilled to be working with such a preeminent institution like the Bayerische Staatsoper this year.”

With an over 350-year history of opera and ballet, the Bayerische Staatsoper is among the world’s leading opera houses. Approximately 600,000 guests attend more than 400 events every year. The Bayerische Staatsoper aims to make an important contribution to Munich’s reputation as one of the most internationally renowned cities of culture in the world.

“We are excited to see what synergies we can create through this partnership with Brainlab – from which the audience will ultimately profit,” commented Serge Dorny, Artistic Director of the Bayerische Staatsoper. “By focusing on the idea of digitalization, one which is central to Brainlab, we can build a bridge between culture and technology. My hope is that these new formats will encourage a more diverse audience for opera and ballet and make it easier for younger generations to access these artforms.”

The “Ja, Mai” festival taking place in May is dedicated to early and contemporary music theatre. It references its beginnings in the late 16th century and connects yesterday, today and tomorrow. The 2003/04 piece Hanjo by contemporary composer Toshio Hosokawa, inspired by Nō Theater, will be performed, as well as one of the earliest ever operas, Monteverdi’s Il ritorno/The Year of Magical Thinking, which originally premiered in Venice in 1640.

JA, MAI FESTIVAL 2023
This second edition of the Ja, Mai Festival, newly founded by the Bayerische Staatsoper, focuses on synergies between music theater, dance and visual arts and revolves around the thematic constellation of «expectation.” The festival explores motifs such as waiting, the passing of time, the question of letting go or holding on and the various semantic dimensions of time.

THEMED CONCERTS
Science and art come together in these themed concerts. The evenings will be dialogues between two manifestations of the human urge to explore in the form of lectures from fundamental research and music from chamber ensembles and similar orchestrations.

March 26^th, 2023
1^ST THEMED CONCERT: THE FUTURE DOESN’T WAIT
7:00 PM, Freiraum in München Hoch5 (Werksviertel)

March 30^th, 2023
2^ND THEMED CONCERT: DIVERSITY AND DEMOCRACY?
7:00 PM, Brainlab headquarters

March 31^st, 2023
3^RD THEMED CONCERT: I DON’T AT ALL WANT TO KNOW
7:00 PM Scholastikahaus

OPERAS
HANJO
The piece Hanjo by contemporary composer Toshio Hosokawa, inspired by Nō Theater, will be performed. Rirkrit Tiravanija, a visual artist, was commissioned to design the stage space. 

May 5^th, 8^th, 10^th, 12^th, 14^th, 2023
7:00 PM Haus der Kunst, West Gallery

IL RITORNO/THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING 
The second production of the festival showcases one of the earliest operas ever: Claudio Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. The work will be performed as Il ritorno/The Year of Magical Thinking, using an autobiographical text by the U.S. writer Joan Didion, who died in 2021. Responsible for the scenic realization of Il ritorno/The Year of Magical Thinking is the multi award-winning acting director Christopher Rüping, who will direct an opera for the first time at the festival.

FESTIVAL PROGRAM
In the lead-up to Ja, Mai and during the festival period, the narratives and themes will be artistically fanned out in a festival program – themed concerts, cinema series, Stelldichein!, introductions and post-festival discussions – at various locations around Munich. The whole program can be found on the Bayerischen Staatsoper website: www.staatsoper.de

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