Henning Brockhaus

In an imaginary American city, God consigns its licentious citizens to hell but they truculently reply that they are already there. Mahagonny ‘the city of nets’ is founded in the desert by three criminals on the run from the police. It is to be a city devoted to pleasure. The only god is money. So Jimmy Mahoney, the hedonistic lumberjack, is condemned to death for being unable to pay the bill for the whisky he has consumed. A testament to the fertile but fraught collaboration between composer Kurt Weill and man of theatre Bertolt Brecht, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is one of the great operas of the 20th century. Brecht might have resented the dominance of the music over the words but together they created a work with rich melody and unstoppable dramatic momentum.

Fondly known as “La Traviata of the Mirrors”, this iconic production returns to the familiar Macerata Opera Festival. The exceptional staging designed by Josef Svoboda allows the audience to experience Verdi’s masterpiece through the gaze of giant mirrors. This production with new costumes stirs emotions and engulfs you in the tragedy that is Violetta Valéry’s predicament. Soprano Claudia Pavone brings the famous courtesan to life. The Sferisterio Opera Festival in Macerata, central Italy, has become a true gem whose performances are enthusiastically acclaimed by audiences of genuine opera lovers from far and wide. The open-air stadium (Sphaeristerium) was constructed 1820-29 and is one of the most renowned neo-classical buildings in Italy. Performed at the Arena Sferisterio 25 and 31 July, 8 and 13 August 2021.