Anima Obscura
Anima Obscura is a penetrating and beautifully designed multimedia performance about the desire for immortality. In her first production for Scapino, artistic director Nanine Linning takes us on an emotional journey, from the mysterious practices of alchemists to the contemporary experiments of biohackers. The dancers are protagonists in the search for the one elixir for eternal life.
Anima Obscura is a monumental work of art for a large ensemble of dancers in which choreography, video animation, holograms, costume design and music merge into an immersive theatrical experience. With her international artistic team, Linning manages to create a world that leaves no one untouched in breathtaking images.
The performance features Johannes Brahms' majestic Ein Deutsches Requiem, cut with a contemporary version by composer Yannis Kyriakides. Renowned harpist Remy van Kesteren or Milana Zaric plays live and is part of the choreography.
Collaborating on this innovative performance are internationally renowned artists, including fashion designer Irina Shaposhnikova. In a gigantic video set, videoscenographer Claudia Rohrmoser brings the latest technologies to life.
The press on Anima Obscura
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Volkskrant ★ ★ ★ ★
"You won't be bored for a single moment during the large-scale, overwhelming dance opera Anima Obscura." -
Theater Paradijs
''Nanine Linning’s debut production sparks the imagination, touches all your senses and emotions, in a poetic exploration of the desire for immortality.'' -
NRC
''Nanine Linning, the new artistic director of Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, pulls out all the stops in Anima Obscura.'' -
NPO Klassiek
''The most spectacular total artwork I’ve seen in recent months. A hundred minutes, and not a single one was boring.'' -
Theaterkrant
''Anima Obscura is an apocalyptic gesamtkunstwerk, a poetic universe you’re invited to get lost in. '' -
Artstalk Magazine
''The final sequence, the dénouement, in Anima Obscura was the most powerful thing I have seen on a stage in a long time.'' -
Vandaag en Morgen
''Fascinating subject matter, which Anima Obscura transforms into a beautifully episodic, danced narrative that—true to a true gesamtkunstwerk—reveals different aspects of the whole and of its outstanding performers.'' -
Die Glocke ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“Set in motion and accompanied by music and dance, a total work of art has emerged that evokes strong emotions which captivated the audience mercilessly.” -
Westfalen Blatt
“Anima Obscura” is a fantastic and beautiful, but also disturbing piece, which continues to captivate you with steady tension. But also with the perfect interaction of dance and video animation, music and light as well as stage design and costumes.”
Calendar
| Thursday 19 June 2025 - 19:30 |
Performance
Anima Obscura |
National Theatre
Bucharest (Romenia) |
Tickets |
| Friday 20 June 2025 - 19:30 |
Performance
Anima Obscura |
National Theatre
Bucharest (Romenia) |
Tickets |
| Wednesday 29 October 2025 - 20:00 |
Try-out
Anima Obscura |
Stadstheater Zoetermeer
Zoetermeer
This performance has an introduction. You can find more information about this on the theater's website.
|
Tickets |
| Thursday 30 October 2025 - 19:45 |
Performance
Anima Obscura |
Amare
The Hague
This performance has an introduction. You can find more information about this on the theater's website.
|
Tickets |
| Friday 31 October 2025 - 19:45 |
Performance
Anima Obscura |
Amare
The Hague
This performance has an introduction. You can find more information about this on the theater's website.
|
Tickets |
Credits
Concept, director and choreography
Nanine Linning
Video scenography
Claudia Rohrmoser
Music
Johannes Brahms „Ein Deutsches Requiem”
Yannis Kyriakides „Ein Schemen”,
Performed live by
Harpist Remy van Kesteren (performances in 2025)
Harpist Milana Zaric (performances in 2026)
Costume design
Irina Shaposhnikova
Light design
Thomas C. Hase, Charlie Raschke (assistent)
Stage design
Nanine Linning, Christa Beland
Dramaturgy
Peggy Olislaegers
Choreographic assistance
Kyle Patrick
Music advice
Tido Visser
Philosopher
Jappe Groenendijk
Director and choreographer Nanine Linning
Nanine Linning has gained international recognition over the past twenty years with her large multidisciplinary productions that combine dance and opera, design, fashion and visual art.
With her strong visual language and explosive dance, she reaches a wide audience, which also follows her faithfully in the Netherlands. Performances such as Bacon, Requiem and Zero have received international acclaim. Nanine Linning works closely with various internationally renowned artists such as Teodor Currentzis, Alexandros Tsolakis, Yuima Nakazato, Alexey Retinsky and Studio Drift. Her collaborations with Iris van Herpen and Bart Hess led to exhibitions in several museums.
Ein Deutsches Requiem
Brahms' requiem is not a death mass accompanying the deceased on their way to the afterlife, but music that offers comfort to the bereaved. Music for the living, then, with great melodic richness and emotional intensity. Yannis Kyriakides calls his recomposition ‘a dreamscape with fragments of Brahms appearing and disappearing in a disorderly manner’.
In the performance, Brahms‘ music represents earthly life; Kyriakides’ electronic sound world is like an echo that provides access to another time dimension and parallel reality on stage - this music allows the use of flashbacks and flashforwards accompanied by a different dance language.
