The KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, Hannover/Germany, make art possible in all its facets – even in extraordinary times. With the greatest of planning flexibility and a model prevention concept, the KunstFestSpiele around their director Ingo Metzmacher begin today, 24.09.2020, with the laser and sound installation Fountain Scan, by Robert Henke, in the Großer Garten of the famous Herrenhäuser Garden.

Coronavirus has compelled the KunstFestSpiele to make major changes to its original programme for May. Five new productions enhance this year’s festival, among them Trevor Tweeten’s film about Ben Frost’s haunting opera Der Mordfall Halit Yozgat (The Murder of Halit Yozgat), which was commissioned by the Staatsoper Hannover during lockdown in April 2020. Lower Saxony’s expected new pandemic regulations from 1 October 2020 complicate the entry of artists from countries at risk, so that the productions La Partida, Future Lovers (both Spain) and Nightshade Aubergine (Antwerp/Paris) are being shown as livestreams, and L’Ailleurs de l’autre (Paris) as a film documentation.

For organisational reasons, tickets for the KunstFestSpiele 2020 are only available at the advance-boking office in the Hanover Künstlerhaus (Sophienstraße 2, 30159 Hanover). Tickets can be purchased in person from Mon to Fri 12 to 6 p.m., by telephone under 0511 – 168 499 94 or online. The KunstFestSpiele wish to encourage group bookings of up to 10 people so as to give more people the opportunity to see the performances under the social-distancing rules.

Tickets purchased for the May edition of the KunstFestSpiele are no longer valid (with the exception of Fountain Scan; these tickets may be used on any one day of the festival). Visitors can find detailed information on new and previously purchased tickets on the KunstFestSpiele website in an up-to-date FAQ.