About 

Meryem’s Ballad is a fresh interdisciplinary artistic creation, specifically designed for the Hinterhalt Commission, a unique partnership between Deutsche Oper and the Musicboard Berlin. As one of the two recipients in 2022, BABELFIS, in collaboration with visual artist Mert Akbal, has crafted an original performance offering commentary on Wagner’s ‘The Flying Dutchman,’ a featured production on the main stage of Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2023/2024 season.

Reclaiming the women’s friendship in R. Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman”:
Not long ago, during the time when Senta and Meryem (Mary) toiled side by side

Meryem’s Ballad reimagines Wagner’s portrayal of Senta, a self-sacrificing female figure, and her friend Mary from the libretto. In the original story, Mary makes a final attempt to dissuade Senta and urges her to release her strong fixation on the doomed sailor’s image. Meanwhile, the women continue their labor,  spinning wheels while awaiting the return of the men.

In this performance, Senta and her friends take on the roles of factory workers in Pierburg, an auto-parts manufacturing plant in Neuss, on November 11, 1973. During a short break from their work, Meryem, a ‘guest worker’ hailing from Turkey, listens with unease as Senta sings about her upcoming marriage to a man who expects her to leave her job and become a housewife. After Senta’s ballad, Meryem challenges this decision, making a persuasive case for her friend to reconsider. She narrates her own journey of emancipation, which began with leaving her homeland and continued through years of striving for equality. As Meryem recounts her past, present, and future experiences, she reflects on the recurring themes of being both an immigrant and a woman, weaving a cyclic history through the songs of BABELFIS and visuals by Mert Akbal.

Premiere

11 November 2023 Deutsche Oper’s Tischlerei

Meryem’s Ballad emerges as a groundbreaking interdisciplinary creation, meticulously crafted for the Hinterhalt Commission through an exclusive collaboration between Deutsche Oper and the Musicboard Berlin. Following its well-received premiere at Deutsche Oper’s Tischlerei stage on November 11, 2023, as part of the ‘extended version: The Flying Dutchman’ event, Meryem’s Ballad is now poised to unfold across diverse spaces.

For more information about the event please visit: extended version: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN 

Upcoming Shows

May 25-26, 2024 — Rotterdam (NL)

O. Festival for Opera. Music. Theater.

further information

June 7, 2024 — Hamburg (DE)

Hauptsache Frei Festival

further information

Program

SENTA´S BALLAD

MERYEM´S BALLAD

I.   YOLCULUK / Voyage / die Reise
II.  FABRİKA / the Factory / die Fabrik
III. HAYAT / Life / das Leben
KARA BALIK / Black Fish / Schwarzer Fisch
KUYU / The Well / Der Brunnen
KOZA / Cocoon / Kokon
KEÇİ / The Goat / die Ziege
ALTI / Six / Sechs

Words

Cast

BABELFIS
Sevda Hamzaçebi (vocals)
Cem Dinler (keys, synths)

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GUEST MUSICIANS
Serkan Emre Çiftçi (trumpet, synths)
Can Tüfekçioğlu (PREMIERE – drums)
Ori Davidson (PREMIERE – bass)
Anna Schoeck (PREMIERE – soprano Senta’s Ballad)

David Wishart (PREMIERE – conductor, piano Senta’s Ballad)
Deutsche Oper Quartet (PREMIERE)

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VISUALS
Mert Akbal

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SOUND
Emre Nişancı

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GRAPHIC DESIGN
Suat Can Beldek

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PROJECT TEAM
Selen Müldür
Sevda Hamzaçebi

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SUPPORTED BY
Musicboard Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Stiftung Menschenwürde und Arbeitswelt

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SPECIAL THANKS
Ali Kemal Gün, Andreas Stark, Beate Riple, Dicle Akar Bilgin, Dieter Braeg, Ezgi Akbaş, Ezgi Hamzaçebi, Edith Marcello, Gerhard Grosche, Görkem Akgöz, Gün Tank, Hıdır Çelik, Irma Wittenberg, Joachim Gester, Laura Bielau, Maureen Noe, Pieter Verstraete, Sebastian Hanusa, Thomas Weski

DOMiD Dokumentationszentrum und Museum über die Migration in Deutschland e.V.
FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum
Michael Schmidt Archive

CONTACT
info@meryemsballad.com