Mahler goes circus!
Urlicht Primal Light
by Circa
Date and venue: Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2026 in Griegsalen, Grieghallen.
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An acrobatic journey through Gustav Mahler’s songs.
A delight for the eyes and ears – one of the world's great performing arts companies – Circa – returns to Bergen with a dynamic fusion of dance, acrobats, music and theatre. At once epic and intimate, poetic and corporeal, this is total theatre at its finest. Be prepared to be wowed over with this symphony of music and bodies in flight – a prayer for the soul’s transcendence reconceived as a thrilling tale for our times.
In 2023, Circa performed at the Bergen International Festival with their acclaimed Humans 2.0. With Urlicht Primal Light, they shape a unique performance through the lens of Tyrolean chamber ensemble Franui’s Mahlerlieder album. One of the most performed and recorded composers of all time, Gustav Mahler’s music is given dynamic physical form through Yaron Lifschitz’s inventive choreography.
This is no ordinary live performance, rather a magical playful refashioning of Mahler’s 1899 song (part of the Austrian composer’s Second Symphony) where the classical and the contemporary come together infused with flashes of jazz and folk music.
Joined by young acrobats from Bergen’s circus school Cirkus Balance, Franui and Circa’s transnational collaboration is a moving contemplation of the power of faith and art.
Video: Circa
“with … body sculptures, dizzying aerial acrobatics and alpine-adapted music by Gustav Mahler, the Circa Ensemble from Brisbane/Australia and the East Tyrolean Musicbanda Franui thrilled the audience”
– SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN
Recommended ages
From 8 years
Contributors
Circa
Franui Musicbanda
Cirkus Balance
Yaron Lifschitz director
Andreas Schett musical director
Markus Kraler, Andreas Schett arrangements, composition
Based on songs by Gustav Mahler
Libby McDonnell costume designer
Anna Handford associate costume designer
Mark Middleton production manager
Stefan Schett head of sound
Danielle Kellie executive producer
Brigitte Fürle curator, creative producer
Circa is supported by Creative Australia and Arts Queensland.
A co-production with European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024, Circa, FRANUI Musicbanda, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi.
