Michel van der Aa

From Dust transcends the boundaries of traditional opera and takes you to the forefront of immersive storytelling and personalised art. Explore the boundaries of reality and identity in From Dust, a cutting-edge virtual reality opera installation that is tailor-made by you and for you using AI. Composed and directed by Michel van der Aa, and performed by the mesmerising vocal ensemble Sjaella. You walk into a dark space. Soon, you see a cloud of tiny particles before you, swarming in the air like a flock of starlings. When you dip your hand into the cloud, the particles slowly transform into the shape of a woman. A second version of her appears and splits away from the original. The eyes of these two figures meet yours, and they begin to sing. Are you a spectator or a participant in this world? During this 24-minute journey, each audience-of-one will take part in a personalised story. Through interacting with their surroundings, the audience will meet the protagonist and her five alter egos, performed by the six members of vocal ensemble Sjaella. The audiences themselves are the ones who create new worlds by walking through and touching the installation, bringing the various alter egos to life. This multi-sensory experience will be tailored for each audience member with generative AI. As a co-creator, you are the counterpart of the main character. You do not just passively watch but actively shape your own story. (All personal data and images are destroyed on completion of the experience.) Van der Aa has made a career of integrating music and theatre with cutting-edge video and sound technology. His VR installation Eight garnered a headline in the New York Times, “A Breakthrough for Virtual Reality in Classical Music”. From Dust builds on these groundbreaking achievements, and will tell its story through music, live interaction, and immersive visuals. From Dust was awarded Best Immersive Work at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2025. Running Time: 45 Min (24 minutes experience) Credits: Performed by vocal ensemble Sjaella: Viola Blache, Marie Fenske, Franziska Eberhardt, Marie Charlotte Seidel, Felicitas Erben, and Helene Erben Composition, director, script – Michel van der Aa Dramaturge – Madelon Kooijman Lead developer – Roland Smeenk Lead technical artist – Rens van de Wiel Technical artist – Quint Vrolijk Lead 3D artist – Stein van de Ven Developer & animation artist – Niels Weber 3D artist (characters) – Glenn Wustlich 〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "MUNICH Beyond" supported by Film Fernseh Fonds Bayern (FFF).