Einstein on the Beach • Philip Glass / Ictus Ensemble / Collegium Vocale Gent / Suzanne Vega / Tom de Cock

In the organizer's words:

Tickets for the Kuppelsaal are sold out, but our BEACH CLUB is open to everyone:

If you just want to drop by or take a breather in between: right next door in the Gartensaal and on the terrace, the Beach Club invites you to linger - with a drink in your hand and Glass' music in your ear: it couldn't be more relaxed. The concert can be experienced here as an audio stream.

Who says opera only works on stage? At the KunstFestSpiele, Philip Glass' legendary work Einstein on the Beach can be experienced in concert at a venue that could hardly be more extraordinary: in the magnificent domed hall of the New Town Hall. The hypnotic soundscape of minimal music unfolds between marble columns and echo loops - a space made for the endless musical spirals and mysterious texts of this work of the century.

Einstein on the Beach, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026, is considered a milestone in music history - as an opera that is not really an opera. No plot, no arias in the classical sense, but a maelstrom of rhythms, voices and repetitions that are constantly changing. The composer broke all boundaries at the time - and shaped future generations of composers.

The American singer Suzanne Vega, world-famous for her songs Tom's Diner and Luka, lends her voice to the poetic and enigmatic texts by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs. She will be accompanied by the Collegium Vocale Gent and the Ictus Ensemble under the direction of Tom de Cock and Dirk Descheemaeker.

ACCESSIBILITY

The New Town Hall is accessible via a separate entrance, please allow some time and ask the staff on site. Tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats and escorts are available at the HAZ & NP advance booking offices.

Further information at: https://kunstfestspiele.de/einstein-on-beach/

Price information:

The Beach Club is open to everyone and the concert can be experienced here as an audio stream.