Opening weekend of the 17th KunstFestSpiele

The 17th KunstFestSpiele, set around the magnificent Herrenhausen Gardens, will open on Friday, 22 May with a concert version of Philip Glass' legendary minimalist opera Einstein on the Beach, featuring Suzanne Vega in the dome hall of Hanover's New Town Hall and a specially created beach club by the Maschteich.

Further festival highlights will follow right after the opening weekend: the German premiere of the futuristic-apocalyptic music theatre piece The Day Before, developed by Brigitta Muntendorf together with Christiane Jatahy and in cooperation with the KunstFestSpiele and the Vienna Festival, as well as the legendary sound installation The Forty Part Motet by the pioneer of immersive sound art Janet Cardiff in the Baroque Gallery Herrenhausen (Saturday 23 May/Sunday 24 May). Brazilian artist Stefanie Egedy will also be placing huge bass speakers in the middle of the Herrenhausen Gardens for her installation BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.) from Sat 23 May to Sun 7 June, which visitors can hear and feel.

The KinderKunstSpektakel (Children's Art Spectacle) (Sun 24 May/Mon 25 May) is aimed at families, children and anyone who is curious. The focus is on artistic works that playfully explore digitality and technology: robots, sound objects, an artistically interpreted tennis court, an upcycling workshop for electronic waste, and a truck in which gravity seems to be suspended. All KinderKunstSpektakel events have an admission price of five euros.

Many more events on the opening weekend and in the two following festival weeks can be found at kunstfestspiele.de/veranstaltungen.