Cassandra is calling

A honeycomb-shaped cube as the centrepiece of the stage

Set designer Fabien Teigné has created the centrepiece of the set with an imposing, honeycomb-shaped cube. This poetic, symbolic object moves through the stage space like a force of nature, constantly changing: sometimes you can see a beehive, sometimes an iceberg, a wall of a flat or a bookshelf. The wooden, rollable cube can be used in a variety of ways: its tulle-covered front serves as a projection surface, it can be unfolded, opened up or dismantled and its honeycomb structure is sometimes reminiscent of bees dying, sometimes of the fragility of ice.

The 3D drawing gives you an insight into the technical design of the cube as a stage design element.

As a central stage element, the cube creates a link between Cassandra's mythological world and Sandra's present. It allows both characters to move through space and time: Sandra enters the world of the ancient seeress, Cassandra immerses herself in our present day.

A world out of balance

The stage set itself evokes a fragile world: blocks of ice being smashed by hammers, screens collapsing like avalanches - all of this points to an environment that has begun to totter. Inside the cube lives an imaginary beehive in which the number of bees decreases as the plot unfolds. They are the silent witnesses of a dying planet.

The buzzing of the bees is also used as a musical signal throughout the opera: over the course of three scenes, we hear how the bees slowly fall silent - an appeal that is unmistakable in its urgency.

Sustainability behind the scenes

Cassandra premiered at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in 2021. The two cubes used there were adopted for the Berlin production - a consciously sustainable step with which the opera house is also taking responsibility backstage.