Die tote Stadt
Event location: Royal Opera House. Ongoing event.
 With Die tote Stadt, The Royal Opera presents a rediscovered masterpiece in its Royal Opera House and UK premiere. Although Erich Korngold became famous through the rich symphonic sounds of his great Hollywood film scores, his early gem of an opera from 1920 was a huge success before he went to America, yet until recently has been mostly neglected.
With a style reminiscent of Richard Strauss and a nickname of the 'Viennese Puccini', it is no surprise that Korngold reveals in his opera the melody and drama, the atmosphere and emotion for which he later won his Oscars.
The story follows the sometimes-real and sometimes-imagined world of Paul, locked in the grip of memories of his dead wife Marie. Marietta, a young woman who resembles Marie in looks but certainly not character, offers the chance for Paul to break free from his obsession with the past and return to his own life and a future. Willy Decker's production has already been hugely praised for its visual and dramatic creation of a world on the edge of reality, its striking design of impressionistic and fragmented imagery conjuring up the dreamlike world of Bruges " the dead city of the title " as the obsessive Paul experiences it.
Making this even more of a special occasion, Ingo Metzmacher, a leading interpreter of 20th-century opera, conducts a score that is as ravishing as it is engrossing.
Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes | 1 Interval
Performed in German with English surtitles
CREDITS
Composer:
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Director:
Willy Decker
Designs:
Wolfgang Gussman
Lighting:
Wolfgang Göbbel
PERFORMERS
Conductor:
Ingo Metzmacher
Paul:
Torsten Kerl
Stephen Gould
Marie/Marietta:
Nadja Michael
Frank/Fritz:
Gerald Finley
Brigitta:
Kathleen Wilkinson
Gastone/Victorin:
Bernard Richter
Kleine Graf:
Ji-Min Park§
Juliette:
Simona Mihai§
Lucienne:
Jurgita Adamonyte
§ Jette Parker Young Artist
Tickets no longer available
We regret to inform you that tickets for Die tote Stadt are no longer available. The event has either ended, sold out or been cancelled. For a list of currently available events, go to the London Online Events Channel
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