Marina Abramović Takes Over Cisternerne in 2026 with a Monumental Cinematic Installation.

In March 2026, Cisternerne opens its doors to the exhibition Seven Deaths – a cinematic opera installation by Marina Abramović. In this large-scale, sensuous total installation the renowned performance artist stages death in seven of the most iconic female roles in opera history.

Based on seven arias famously sung by legendary opera diva Maria Callas, Seven Deaths occupies the unique, underground space of Cisternerne. For the first time, the work will fully unfold in both time and space within this dark, atmospheric, and acoustically rich setting.

“Cisternerne is one of the most unique exhibition spaces I have ever exhibited in. The dark and monumental setting adds dimensions to Seven Deaths that I am excited to share with the audience,” says Marina Abramović.

Abramović has been fascinated by Callas since her youth, viewing the singer’s dramatic life and tragic fate as a reflection of her own experiences with love, loss, and artistic integrity.

Seven Deaths is one of Abramović's most ambitious works to date. Visitors will encounter seven video installations, in which Abramović herself plays each of the female leads, opposite Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe.

“It is a great honour to be able to present Marina Abramović – one of the most defining artists of our time – in Cisternerne,” says Tine Vindfeld, Chief Curator at Cisternerne, and adds: “Seven Deaths is a cross-disciplinary masterpiece that unites performance art, opera and cinematic expression in a site-specific staging created especially for the distinctive space of Cisternerne. We are proud to present an intense and deeply moving experience that touches on universal human emotions and fundamental existential themes: love and loss, passion and pain, life and death.”
Seven Deaths – a cinematic opera installation by Marina Abramović is developed by the Frederiksberg Museums in close collaboration with Marina Abramović and her studio in New York.

About the artist
Marina Abramović (b. 1946, Belgrade) is one of the most influential performance artists of our time. For over five decades, she has challenged the boundaries of art, endurance and human relations, in iconic works such as Rhythm 0 (1974) and The Artist Is Present (MoMA, New York, 2010).

Her work has been shown in leading museums worldwide, including Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (The Cleaner, 2017). In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious Sonning Prize for her lifelong contribution to performance art. She lives and works in New York.

Abramović turns 80 on November 30, 2026 – the closing day of the exhibition.

Read more about the exhibition HERE.

Practical info:
Seven Deaths – A Cinematic Opera Installation by Marina Abramović.
Exhibition period: 14 March – 30 November
Venue: Cisternerne, Søndermarken