Requiem für eine marode Brücke

If urban planning took the form of a concert, what would the liveable city of the future sound like? How would we sing about “revitalising bridges” or “transformation”, how would we set “shading strategy” to music? And which voices would herald ecological change? We talk to people from the construction industry and urban development, with economists, futurologists and activists about the existing plans for a futureproof Cologne – and about the resistance they encounter. And from the quotations they have provided, a music theatre work has been created by Cologne residents for Cologne, a vocal concert for three actors, two Cologne choirs and a city of the future. “Because we do not have an enduring city here, we are searching for the one of the future,” to quote Johannes Brahms’ “Requiem”, which echoes from the dilapidated city walls, sung by the Cologne Cathedral Choir. The director Anna-Sophie Mahler specialises in interweaving research material with music. She rose to prominence with the production “Mittelreich” at the Münchner Kammerspiele, which was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2016. Most recently her production of Tennessee Williams’ “Camino Real” thrilled audiences at the Volkstheater in Vienna, with the band Calexico performing live on stage.