Axel Kober

Wagner's tale of the struggle between spiritual and profane love, and of redemption through love, is given a radical visual update in Sebastian Baumgarten's controversial yet thought-provoking Bayreuth production. Joep van Lieshout's giant installation 'The Technocrat'; dominates the stage, its industrial interior giving credence to the idea that Tannhäuser is one big experiment and playing host to some magnificent performances, among them Torsten Kerl's robust interpretation of the title role and Camilla Nylund's wonderfully empathetic Elisabeth. Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festspiele, August 2014.

The Emperor of Atlantis declares a war of all against all and proclaims that his old ally Death will spearhead the campaign. Offended by the Emperor’s insolence, Death refuses to let anyone die, wreaking havoc throughout the world. Der Kaiser von Atlantis's origin as the only surviving opera composed in a Nazi concentration camp elevates it to a unique memorial against forgetting. Yet in the Deutsche Oper am Rhein’s production, the parable of living death is never cautionary, but ominous, disturbingly comical and deeply human.