Tower of David Museum production displays the warrior-poet biblical king in a new light
King David—the biblical warrior, poet, musician and romantic—is the subject of a new light show at Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum.
The production opens to the public on April 1, but The Media Line got a special sneak-peak of the 45-minute show, an impressive visual collage of light and music.
Eilat Lieber, Director of the Tower of David Museum, located adjacent to the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City, explained that the goal was to create an artistic representation of the story of one of the most renowned figures in history.
“We decided as a gift to King David to create a show about his biblical story. As a museum we decided to use images from [the] history of art,” Lieber told The Media Line, emphasizing that such representations include those conceived by master artists such as Michelangelo and Matisse, among others.
“King David along with being a leader and actually the first king that established the city [of Jerusalem which bears] his name, left his art to the world. We believe this is the most important message that comes from the show. The music, the words that he said here in Jerusalem…this will stay forever.”
Renee Sivan, the concept creator and show’s curator, said her goal was to pay tribute to King David with a virtual light, sound and musical experience. “David is the king of the kings and my idea was to make something that is an homage to him. The final concert in the show is like saying to King David, thank you very much, you did a good job,” she told The Media Line.
Sivan worked with a team of art directors, actors, graphic designers and technical engineers who mapped the complex’s walls to illuminate them with 35 million pixels projected by 18 lasers, which are accompanied by 20 audio speakers and the equivalent of 10 kilometers of cable.
“If I take everything all together, about 18 months,” she said in reference to how long it took to develop the production.
Even without the spectacle, the Tower of David Museum and citadel is an impressive site, its archaeological ruins dating back almost 3,000 years.
“The place is a monumental place. It’s emotional,” Sivan added. “And the sound of the music, the light here, a picture there, everything makes it magic. That is the word. It is not a fantasy. It is magic.”