SOMBRE is an upcoming interdisciplinary work of music theatre that questions cultural archetypes and memories. It was created in collaboration with three living composers (Cécile Marti and Asia Ahmetjanova from Switzerland, and Jean-Baptiste Barrière from France) who enter a dialogue with the chamber music of Kaija Saariaho.

The project is built around six works by Saariaho – including the eponymous Sombre – that explore ambiguous cultural figures and events, prompting original works by Marti, Ahmetjanova, and Barrière that are commissioned for this project that will later continue their lives as standalone pieces.

In the music theatre performance SOMBRE – In the Shadows of our Time, the nine works will be combined into a new staged whole, whose dramaturgy and stage direction are realized by Aleksi Barrière.