This performance features a 6:30 p.m. preperformance talk by Jesse Rosenberg, Inna Naroditskaya, Alan Pierson, and Joachim Schamberger.
Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble
When the cruel Emperor orders a senseless total war, Death decides to put an end to the chaos by going on strike. The people long for a release from the struggles of life, but only by willingly going to his own death can the Emperor convince Death to resume his role. Composed in the concentration camp at Terezin between 1943 and 1944, and finally premiered by the Netherlands Opera in 1975, Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis is both a satire on militarism and an unsettling contemplation of what life might be like if humankind were given immortality. In this new staging with additional musical selections, the story introduces further questions about the nature of information and propaganda in the age of artificial intelligence.
Run time approximately 70 minutes. Performed in English.
Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students with valid ID.