Event Detail

Note: Three performances: May 30, June 1-2.

Viktor Ullmann's powerful chamber opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, written in 1943, while the composer was interred in the concentration camp Theresienstadt. When the opera's obvious references to the Nazi regime were discovered during rehearsal, the work was banned; it had tragic consequences for the composer and his family.  Miraculously, the work survived.

The story is a type of fable. After a protracted and violent war, Death discovers that his job has been taken away from him by the Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Death decides to go on strike; all of a sudden the concept of war, victory and defeat becomes irrelevant. The result is moving and heartbreaking.