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Hear ye, hear ye
Mar. 22nd, 2011 02:57 pmThe Emperor of Atlantis is a witty, mordant satire of the Third Reich, an audacious gesture of resistance from the Theresienstadt concentration camp where the composer and librettist were imprisoned. The music is surprisingly, hauntingly beautiful, but the inhabitants of Theresienstadt never got to hear it. When a couple of SS officers came to the dress rehearsal, they didn't like what they saw. The performances were banned, and the composer, librettist, orchestra and their families were sent to their deaths in Auschwitz. The score only survives because Ullmann entrusted it to a friend who happened to live.
It's also the first production by the new opera company I've founded, Dioneo. We'll be staging it at the Cello Factory near Waterloo, London, on April 5, 6, 8 and 9 (but not 7.) We have a cast of wonderful singers and a 14-piece band, ably headed by director Max Hoehn and conductor John Murton. I hope you'll come and see it.
The venue is intimate and only seats 60, so advance booking is recommended (details here). Part of Dioneo's mission is to make opera available to everyone, so we've priced tickets at only £12. Come one, come all!
EDIT: For a sample of the music, here's the finale [YouTube; 2:25; not by us]. As you can hear, it's sort-of-kind-of based on the Bach chorale Ein feste Burg, known to most English speakers as A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Enjoy.
It's also the first production by the new opera company I've founded, Dioneo. We'll be staging it at the Cello Factory near Waterloo, London, on April 5, 6, 8 and 9 (but not 7.) We have a cast of wonderful singers and a 14-piece band, ably headed by director Max Hoehn and conductor John Murton. I hope you'll come and see it.
The venue is intimate and only seats 60, so advance booking is recommended (details here). Part of Dioneo's mission is to make opera available to everyone, so we've priced tickets at only £12. Come one, come all!
EDIT: For a sample of the music, here's the finale [YouTube; 2:25; not by us]. As you can hear, it's sort-of-kind-of based on the Bach chorale Ein feste Burg, known to most English speakers as A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Enjoy.