If I Do Not Return

About

Hania Rani creates a work for voice, piano, electronics and ensemble that revives texts from Renaissance songs by John Dowland in a contemporary sound language. Theater Basel presents it as an opera and describes it as a futuristic oratorio and an installative concert performance. The spatial concept is tailored to Elisabethenkirche, which becomes an active acoustic and architectural partner. Within this sacred space, sound and light shape an immersive landscape that suspends ordinary time, forging a loop between the Elizabethan past and a distant future. The visual and technical design is led by Theresa Baumgartner (set, costumes, lighting) with costume collaboration by Florentino Mori and dramaturgy by Elise Boch. The musical forces include soprano Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, pianist-composer Hania Rani, Neophyt Vokalensemble and Kammerorchester Basel.