Il prigioniero / Der Kaiser von Atlantis

Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder die Tod-Verweigerung

The Emperor of Atlantis, or, The Refusal of Death

Spiel in einem Akt

Viktor Ullmann

Petr Kien

Il prigioniero

The Prisoner

Opera in one act and a prologue

Luigi Dallapiccola

Am I still human, or the adding machine of God?

Luigi Dallapiccola described his opera Il prigioniero (1949) as a protest opera formed through his stark opposition to fascist regimes, "indignation ... [that could] only be expressed in music". Viktor Ullmann and Petr Kien's Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder die Tod-Verweigerung (~1944) was created and rehearsed in Theresienstadt, an incredible work of resistance, a "refusal" of the unchecked power of oppressive forces.

Yet, this double bill could well have been written today, so hauntingly and incisively does it speak to the world around us in its determined resistance, its depiction of oppression, power, and elusive freedom, and its invocation of humanity against systems bent on destruction. More than ever, may we heed this call.

Team

Conductor Toby Wong

Director Michael Honeyman (Il prigioniero)

Menila Moineaux (Der Kaiser von Atlantis)

Assistant Conductor Ashleigh Lane

Assistant Director Emma Mense

Cast

Il prigioniero

Il prigioniero Tristan Entwistle

La madre Katrina Waters

Il carceriere / il grande Inquisitore Sam Elmi

Primo sacerdote Matt Gaskin

Secondo sacerdote Dale Schilling

Chorus Matt Gaskin, Avalon Gatenby, Elizabeth Harper, Andrew Pennycuick, Dale Schilling

The Cooperative Actors' Ensemble

The Cooperative Chamber Orchestra

Der Kaiser von Atlantis

Kaiser Overall Michael Lampard

Der Tod Bernard Leong-Lokman

Harlekin / Ein Soldat Sam Elmi

Der Trommler Angelique Tot

Bubikopf Elizabeth Harper

Der Lautsprecher Dale Schilling

The Child Atticus Olds

Ensemble Matt Gaskin, Avalon Gatenby, Andrew Pennycuick

The Cooperative Chamber Orchestra

30 October | 7:30PM

1 November | 7PM*

*as part of "Freedom? A festival of independent music and theatre"

Glebe Town Hall, 160 St Johns Road, Glebe

Pay as you feel. Come as you are.

We live, work, and create on the unceded land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We affirm their sovereignty and offer our respect to Elders, past, present, and emerging - this always is, always was, and always will be Aboriginal Land.

Admission to all our productions is open to all on a pay-as-you-feel scale, and all donations go to charities thematically connected to the ideas we've explored onstage.

We recognise that we work and perform on stolen land, the First Nations sovereignty of which was never ceded, and direct a percentage of our donations from each production at The Cooperative to organisations run by and benefiting First Nations communities.

This project is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

This project is sponsored by Inner West Council.