Ersan Mondtag

Reduced to poverty by slander, a blacksmith seals a pact with the devil for seven years of work and good living. When his time is up, he outwits the messengers of Hell, only to be turned away from the gates of heaven. It is a rare treat to discover an unknown opera, all the more so when opera houses are forced to remain closed. In Ersan Mondtag’s vivid, politically charged staging, Schreker’s ‘magic opera’ enchants as a colourful cocktail of musical influences ranging from reminisces of Kurt Weill to baroque counterpoint. Co-produced with Nationaltheater Mannheim.

Herod lusts after his stepdaughter Salome and insists on seeing her dance. Salome longs to kiss the mouth of the imprisoned John the Baptist – a prophet of doom who loses himself in hate speech.