Emperor of Atlantis

Preceded by In virtue of…
Two-venue operatic diptych

Part 1 / Performances at the UN

In virtue of… (2021)

Eugene Birman
Libretto by Stéphane Ghislain Roussel
Based on the European Convention on Human Rights
Swiss premiere

Part 2 / Performances at the Comédie de Genève

The Emperor of Atlantis or the refusal to die
(Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder die Tod-Verweigerung, 1943)
Viktor Ullmann
Libretto by Viktor Ullmann and Peter Kien Premiere December 16, 1975 at Bellevue-Theater, Amsterdam
Geneva premiere

The performance opens at the UN, followed by a transfer / intermission to proceed at the Comédie de Genève

Recommended for ages 12 and up

Cast

Musical Director Marc Hajjar
Concept and direction Stéphane Ghislain Roussel
Lighting Designer Jean-Pierre Michel
Set and Costume Designer Peggy Wurth
Dramaturgy Sandra Pocceschi
Soloist In virtue of… then the Emperor Overall Michel de Souza

Death Julien Ségol
Harlequin Benjamin Alunni
A Soldier Pierre Arpin
Bubikopf Sheva Tehoval
The Drummer Raphaële Green
The Loudspeaker Jean-Christophe Fillol
Ensemble Contrechamps

Musicians In virtue of… Emma Landarrabilco, Andreas Mader, Max Mausen

Production Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
Coproduction Grand Théâtre de Genève, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
With the support of LOD music theatre and enoa, a program of Europe Creative

About

With The Emperor of Atlantis preceded by In Virtue of…, Belgian-Luxembourg director Stéphane Ghislain Roussel presents an involved opera diptych representing a veritable voyage through time and space. Two strikingly topical plays, set in two of Geneva’s international and cultural centres, offering an evening of historical and political reflection.

As the first part, young composer Eugen Birman’s In Virtue of… will echo around the Assembly Hall of the UN Palais des Nations – the ideal setting for this work for baritone, instrumental ensemble and live electronics which questions the meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights in light of the rise of extremism around the world.

Then it’s on to the Comédie de Genève for the second part, Viktor Ullman’s chamber opera The Emperor of Atlantis, composed in 1943 at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. The Emperor Overall, who declares war against everyone and in doing so provokes Death into going on strike, is performed by Michel de Souza – the soloist who speaks in the first part – as if he were the same character, displaced in time. And thus the diptych makes full sense: are there only a few steps between the turmoil of democracy and the drift towards authoritarianism?