FEDORA - Chamber Music Prize "L’Étranger"

Details

30 July 2025

Mannheim / Germany

Platform Members, Roadshow

About the event

Awarded the Chamber Music Prize at Mannheimer Sommer, L’Étranger is a semi-staged chamber opera based on Albert Camus’ existential novel The Stranger. The production focuses on the novel’s powerful final courtroom scene and is performed by a chamber ensemble drawn from the National Theater Orchestra. Incorporating narration, voice, light, projections, and even unconventional sound sources - such as a kitchen spatula - the performance transforms Studio Werkhaus into a space of atmospheric storytelling and sonic experimentation.

About the artists

Composers Elnaz Seyedi and Ehsan Khatibi, both originally from Tehran and now active in the German contemporary music scene, are known for their distinctive artistic voices. Seyedi’s work explores delicate, textural soundscapes, while Khatibi often blends Western and Persian musical influences with narrative forms. Both studied composition in Germany under renowned mentors Manfred Trojahn and Younghi Pagh-Paan. Their collaboration on L’Étranger reflects a shared commitment to innovation, cultural dialogue, and pushing the boundaries of chamber music and staged performance.

Nationaltheater Mannheim

Nationaltheater Mannheim (NTM) is a multi-genre theatre with a program of opera, drama, dance and theatre for young audience. It is considered one of Germany’s most prestigious stages. Founded in the early 19th century the works of artists like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Friedrich Schiller have laid the foundation of a continuing inspiration for more than 200 years.

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