The Ensemble intercontemporain – France's only permanent contemporary music ensemble, founded by composer/conductor Pierre Boulez – presents two new works: Hypermusic Prologue and Interzone.

Pierre Boulez's Ensemble intercontemporain was founded in 1976 as an outstanding group promoting 20th-century and contemporary music in France and abroad. Susanna Mälkki was appointed musical director in September 2006. The Fondation d’entreprise Hermès supports two new works reflecting the Ensemble's original approach.

Hypermusic Prologue is a unique blend of science, music and the visual arts. Composer Hèctor Parra worked with physicist Lisa Randall (for the libretto), artist Matthew Ritchie and producer/director Paul Desveaux to revisit "the historic form of opera" and create a new dramatic form that transports its protagonists (a baritone and soprano) to new realms: he trapped in the four-dimensional universe, she amidst evanescent projections evoking a fifth dimension. The listener inhabits a hybrid sound environment, experiencing "musical catharsis" and losing "understanding and control of our own reality."

Interzone is another foray into unexplored territory. Based on the work of poet W. S. Burroughs, composer Enno Poppe and video artist Anne Quirijnen – the video installation charts Tangier's post-war transformation as a free international zone and "paradise" of sexual freedoms, through a kaleidoscopic array of urban environments.