On 31 October 2025, the Staatsballett Berlin presented the world premiere of Wunderkammer, a creation by artist in residence Marcos Morau. Inspired by Berlin’s nightlife, from the cabarets of the Weimar Republic to today’s club culture, the Spanish choreographer creates his own theatrical Wunderkammer to newly composed music by Clara Aguilar and Ben Meerwein.
Image above: Rehearsals for Wunderkammer, Photo: Yan Revazov
The Staatsballett Berlin presented the world premiere of Wunderkammer on 31 October 2025 at the Komische Oper Berlin @Schillertheater, the first full-length choreography by ‘Artist in Residence’ Marcos Morau for the company. The Spaniard was recently named ‘Choreographer of the Year’ for the second time in the annual critics’ poll conducted by tanz magazine. Following Overture, he has now created his second work with the ensemble of the Staatsballett Berlin.
With his distinctive stage designs, Marcos Morau evokes familiar places, transporting them into dreamlike and surreal realms. The title Wunderkammer refers to the historical cabinets of curiosities that served as collections of extraordinary and “curious” objects in Renaissance and Baroque Europe. Marcos Morau takes up this theme and weaves it into Berlin’s nightlife from the 1920s to the present day: ‘I was inspired by the nocturnal worlds of cabaret and the dark worlds of nightlife, where grotesque humour, playful exaggeration and an aura of secrecy shine through.’
Visually and acoustically, elements of the 1920s merge with contemporary aesthetics, which is reflected in the costumes by Silvia Delagneau, the stage design by Max Glaenzel and the music. Spanish composer and sound designer Clara Aguilar and Berlin-based composer and sound designer Ben Meerwein collaborated on the music, which was composed especially for this production. Together, they created a sound that combines past and present, electronic sounds, cinematic scores and vocals, with the dancers performing not only movements but also spoken words.
WHEN?
Further performances:
07., 09., 14., 16., 30. (2x) November 2025
11., 17., 23. April 2026
WHERE?
Komische Oper Berlin @Schillertheater
Bismarckstraße 110
10625 Berlin-Charlottenburg
