Portrait

“Everyone calls barbarism whatever is not in their own custom. (…) Thus, we may well call them barbarians in accordance with the rules of reason, but not in comparison to ourselves, who surpass them in every form of barbarism.”

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), Essays, I, 31

The COLLECTIF BARBARE was founded in 2006 by Astride Schlaefli after the musician, composer, and director won second prize at the PREMIO competition.

The ensemble consists of professional musicians, performers, and multimedia artists from Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, and France. Astride Schlaefli is the artistic director of the collective.

COLLECTIF BARBARE sees itself as a flexible ensemble that continuously reexamines the concepts of new music theater, performance, and installation through its projects. These take place both indoors and in public spaces and have been presented in Switzerland, Germany, France, Hungary, Turkey, Armenia, the USA, and Argentina.

A portion of these projects are participatory, fostering intergenerational and cultural diversity. They bring together seniors, young people, unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, and people with cognitive disabilities on an equal footing, enabling inclusive participation.

The projects of COLLECTIF BARBARE are shaped by music, sound, and poetry, creating space for humor as well as striking and unconventional imagery and situations. This is particularly true for socially or politically engaged projects such as LES ENFANTS DE BARBARIE (2008), which addresses the persecution of the Yenish people in Switzerland, and LES PARADIS BARBARES (2009). The ensemble has also collaborated with unaccompanied minor asylum seekers on WINTERREISE (2019) and L’INVITATION (2023–2024).

Furthermore, THE NOTEBOOK (2017–2022) explores childhood in wartime, while DER HIMMEL BRENNT (2023) offers a feminist perspective on war, with a particular focus on the war in Ukraine. WIE DIE FLIEGEN (JUST LIKE FLIES (2025) address the issue of femicide.

Astride Schlaefli often combines live music with pre-recorded sound and video material. Her preference for technically ambitious and radical concepts is particularly evident in productions such as REVOX – A TALE OF PHANTOMS (2019–2022) and DER KRIEG MIT DEN MOLCHEN (2023), both of which were realized using 3D audio and automated objects without live performers.

Her earlier works also reflect this experimental approach: CRESCENDO (composition for 47 pianos, 2005), PIANISTE (solo for a pianist without a piano, 2012), and KONZERTEN (featuring 55 recruits from the Aarau military band, 2018). Another striking example is WINTERREISE (2019), performed in February in the unheated and icy Alte Reithalle in Aarau, incorporating the physical conditions of the venue as an integral part of the staging.

Astride Schlaefli also enjoys working site-specifically, developing projects that directly engage with their performance space. Examples include NACHTREISE (2016), a production staged in the garden and basement of Theater Winkelwiese in Zurich, and SITCOM (2012), a six-part performance in the format of a reality TV series set in public space.

Another example is HAPPY FOREVER (2021), an installation in the basement of the PALAZZO WYLER. It was composed of authentic objects left behind by former residents of the apartment building. Following the exhibition, the building was demolished due to asbestos contamination, giving the project an unexpectedly final dimension.

Artistic Vision

At the heart of COLLECTIF BARBARE’s work lies music and the exploration of the condition humaine. Each project engages with questions concerning the function and impact of human-created societies. What is their quality? How strongly does society and its codes influence the individual? Under what circumstances does violence arise? What defines civilization, and who determines its boundaries?

COLLECTIF BARBARE aims to explore concepts such as “reason,” “civilization,” and “morality” through artistic means. Its projects seek to create spaces for poetic, precise, or distorted imagery. COLLECTIF BARBARE creates works that hold up an emotional mirror to the audience, allowing them to recognize and question themselves within it.