Marina Abramović Stages Seven Deaths at Copenhagen Cisternerne

Beneath Copenhagen’s Søndermarken park, opera travels through the dark before visitors can locate its source. Water drips from overhead, and puddles catch dim light on the floor. A low rumble of music moves through the former reservoir at Cisternerne, spreading beyond the screen where it began. During the spring visit, small theater-like setups emerged from the shadows as guests moved farther inside, each featuring seats facing a glowing screen.

Here, Marina Abramović places herself inside seven doomed female roles made famous by Maria Callas. The performance artist appears opposite actor Willem Dafoe in a series of short films, accompanied by recordings of the soprano’s voice. The installation takes about an hour to experience in full, following heroines who meet their ends while the audience continues moving to re-experience each death.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Abramović draws from operas where heroines meet distinct fates, such as Violetta dying of tuberculosis in La traviata, Tosca jumping to her death, Desdemona killed by Otello, and Carmen by Don José. These stories come together through a single body on screen, where the artist dies and returns in the next film to die again. The cinematic scale places the artist's body at the center of each constructed scene.