The art world was out in force on Wednesday, 17 June, for an exceedingly Russian production of the Futurist opera Victory Over the Sun. Bigwigs such as Sam Keller of the Fondation Beyeler, which co-organised the event, and independent curator Sir Norman Rosenthal filed in to Theater Basel for the experimental extravaganza featuring Mikhail Matyushin’s original music plus costumes based on Kazimir Malevich’s geometric designs. The opera is an avant-garde call to destroy the sun, a symbol of logical enlightenment. The arty audience subsequently savoured the erratic choreography, thrashing of limbs and enigmatic verse delivered in Russian, especially excerpts like: “Do not go out beyond the line of fire, an iron bird is flying, the wood goblin waggles his beard, beneath the hoof of someone buried.” Project partners include the Moscow-based AVC charity and Cahiers d'Art.