About the piece:

NEDA – The Call, The Voice explores the ambivalence of new communication technologies through the fate of two young women from Iran. One was shot during the "Green Revolution" in 2009 and became an icon of the uprising. The other was forced to abandon her previous life and flee after her image on Facebook was mistakenly confused with that of the woman who was killed. When the color values of their photographs are converted into sine tones, they sound strikingly similar.
How do the photos of Biennale visitors compare? By submitting a photo taken before the performance along with a date of birth, or using a freely invented profile, visitors can become part of the composition just like the two Iranian women. East and West — however differently they use social networks (there they facilitated recent rebellions, here they put private lives on public display) — both give away their images and data.
This composed installation leads into the depths of modern Iran as well as our technological era, both of which often seem as inscrutable as an ancient oracle. In Iran, this tradition is still cultivated today through the poetry of Hafez — one of the few common denominators among all Persians and the inspiration behind Goethe's West–Eastern Divan — where wise women use it to predict the future. In NEDA, Hafez's poetry is fed into the electronics just like the photographs: from images and words, a new kind of music-theatrical synthesis emerges.

Interview with composer Alexander Strauch (AS) and director Martina Veh (MV):

How did you come up with the idea of making a project about Iran and the internet?
AS: In 2009, I was deeply moved by the images of the protests following the manipulated presidential elections. A student named Neda was shot; another Neda was confused with her on the internet and in the media — a confusion that persists to this day — forcing her to flee. At the time, I was reading the old Persian poet Hafez and his ambivalent relationship with strong Persian women. When, while experimenting with music electronics, the images of the two Nedas circulating on the internet also turned out to sound alike, it became clear to me that I had to turn this into a music theater piece.

Where do you see the positive power of the internet?
MV: The development of the internet is comparable to the development of the printing press and literacy. Knowledge and information become accessible to a broader range of people. This caused a certain unease then, just as it does today. People might start asking questions of themselves and of the system.

And where does powerlessness come in?
MV: The internet cannot have powerlessness, because it is merely a tool. The real question is: how is the internet used in different societies? It is human beings themselves who generate and experience powerlessness when they perceive the world. This is also what happens in the modern tragedy we tell through our music theater.

How do you make images sound?
AS: In essence, color values are converted into frequencies of sine tones. There will be sounding images of the audience members and of the Nedas. Their sound triggers the sonic narrative. The singers trace the extraordinary story, which in turn leads to the scenic images created by Martina Veh. Music as the interface of visual perception: one might describe it as image-to-sound-to-image — a blend of theater, concert, and installation.

What does a face sound like?
MV: Come to our performance and your question will be answered. Alexander Strauch's music is highly scenic — and therefore a rich, stimulating source of inspiration for the theater. Above all, we are telling the story of a case of mistaken identity: imagine seeing your own image in the news presented as that of someone who has died.