Two chamber operas with unfortunately topical war themes are on the programme of the Opera School in the winter semester. "The Comedy on the Bridge" (1935) by Bohuslav Martinů treats the subject more as a farce: in the confusion of battlefields and checkpoints, five people end up on a bridge and can no longer get away. Their everyday quarrels, reconciliations and eccentricities are cancelled out by artillery fire. After surviving the danger of war, there is a (questionable) happy ending.
In "The Emperor of Atlantis" by Viktor Ullmann, the subject of war is viewed from a far more philosophical angle: After Emperor Overall declares war of all against all, death goes on strike: people can no longer die and therefore can no longer be redeemed from the most serious injuries, illness and old age. Only when the Emperor is prepared to sacrifice himself is humanity redeemed.
Ullmann wrote this work in 1943 in the Theresienstadt ghetto, where it was forbidden to be performed. Before his deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp in October 1944, the composer was able to entrust the sheet music to fellow prisoners, and so this outstanding work and contemporary document was saved for posterity.

Both pieces move in an extended major-minor tonality and work with ironic quotations: Martinů parodies military marches, Ullmann quotes alienated German songs and echoes the musical modernism of the interwar period (similar to Weil and Eisler). The colourful instrumentation is a particular attraction of both works.
The pieces will be performed by students from the opera school and the university symphony orchestra under the musical direction of Andreas Hotz. Katharina Thoma, who is also responsible for the stage design together with Andreas Herold, will once again be in charge of the overall management and direction. The costumes are designed by Irina Bartels.

Performance dates: 24.11. | 25.11. | 27.11. | 28.11. | 30.11. | 1.12. 2023
Performance starts at 7:30 pm | Theatre Bibrastraße

Ticket purchase: Online via Reservix or at one of the advance booking offices

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