Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis, or Death Quits February 1, 2011

An Emperor unleashes total war and orders destruction and death. But Death does not take orders. Where does that leave the Emperor and those he seeks to annihilate? In 1943, composer Viktor Ullmann and poet Petr Kien were prisoners in the concentration camp Terezin, where they created this almost inconceivably wry and touching opera. They died at Auschwitz, but their opera survives as an allusive, haunting, texturally rich testament to their spirit. Expressing through music what words alone cannot convey, the opera is in equal measure dark, funny and poignant as it juxtaposes the brutality and fragility of existence with a celebration of life’s purpose.

With the world premiere of a prologue by Richard Beaudoin, commissioned by BLO.