Dantons Tod
Opera
Music by Gottfried von Einem
Libretto freely adapted from Georg Büchner's play by Boris Blacher and Gottfried von Einem
Premiered October 11, 2018
In German with German surtitles
Age recommendation: 14 years and above
110 Minuten, one interval
The French Revolution has disposed of the absolutist rulers, but the people continue to live in fear and trepidation. While the erstwhile revolutionary Georges Danton seeks pleasure in gambling and love, Robespierre intends to bring about the equality of all people with violence and terror. It is only when he himself comes to the attention of the tyrannical regime that Danton is persuaded to become politically active again. But doubts about his own motives and the possibility of achieving liberty and fraternity through violence stand in the way of his power to act. Georg Büchner's pitiless drama offered the Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem an ideal opportunity to examine Fascist structures of domination. Premiered at the Salzburg Festival two years after the Second World War, the work has lost nothing of its topicality today. On the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth, the celebrated director Günter Krämer brings this gripping and unsettling work to the stage of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz.
Cast
Choir and extra choir of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
Orchestra of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
EINE VON EINEM