Emperor Overall is the tyrannical ruler of Atlantis. When he finally declares a war between everyone and everyone else, Death decides to go on strike. In an act of populist demagogy, the Emperor claims the credit for delivering immortality. But with no one dying, the country descends into chaos. The Emperor is forced to accept that his power has been broken.
Confronted directly with persecution and extermination by the Nazis, Viktor Ullmann composed Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis) in Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943/44: a harrowing allegory critiquing inhuman warmongering and totalitarian power structures. In October 1944 – along with his co-librettist Peter Kien – he was deported on the so-called “Künstlertransport” to Auschwitz, where Ullmann was gassed to death and Kien died of an infection. Shifting between a contemporary opera, a mystery play and a dance of death, Der Kaiser von Atlantis presents a unique theatrical sound world.
For KaiserRequiem, the conductor Omer Meir Wellber has defied convention to interweave Ullmann’s sixty-minute chamber opera with possibly the most famous torso in the history of music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s musical legacy, his Requiem in D minor KV 626 – composed in the face of death in 1791 and interrupted by death. KaiserRequiem is a dialogue between these two works about the great questions of human existence. However, KaiserRequiem is also a collaborative work by all sections of the theatre: the dancers of the Vienna State Ballet as well as the soloists and the chorus and orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper, directed and choreographed by Andreas Heise.
Leading Team
Musik Viktor Ullmann
Musik Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dichtung Viktor Ullmann
Dichtung Peter Kien
Dichtung Felix Braun
Musikalische Fassung Omer Meir Wellber
Stage direction and choreography Andreas Heise
Bühnenbild und Kostüme Sascha Thomsen
Lighting design Johannes Schadl
Choreinstudierung Roger Díaz-Cajamarca
Soundinstallation und Szenische Assistenz Kian Jazdi
Dramaturgie Anne do Paço
Further dates and cast
Photos and Videos
For all those who use a screen reader, a description of the visual aspects of the performance (set design, costumes...) follows here instead of the photo gallery.
The stage is bordered at the back by two huge, gray walls. Small niches at different heights are set into these oppressive walls, which can be opened so that dancers can also be seen performing in these niches. Towards the end, the walls move forward and make the space smaller. The lighting is atmospheric, sometimes dark and gloomy, sometimes scenes are very brightly lit. The costumes are in different shades of gray, some are reminiscent of uniforms, some of everyday clothing. Many costumes have neon green parts, sewn-on stripes or pieces of fabric that allow for different associations. The emperor sometimes only wears underwear and a mesh shirt, while Death wears a shiny black coat, latex gloves and a black hat. The dancers wear dancewear, also in different shades of gray with neon green elements.
Articles from our Weborello
„Deadly-fulminant ballet evening“: Press reviews KaiserRequiem
The premiere of KaiserRequiem was received with great enthusiasm and much acclaim last weekend. Now the first press reviews are in!
First impressions of the rehearsals for the KaiserRequiem premiere
We are eagerly awaiting the premiere of KaiserRequiem. Photographer Ashley Taylor provides the first insights into the work on this musical theatre that gets under your skin. Click through the first rehearsal photos here.
KaiserRequiem
The performance of KaiserRequiem on 27 January 2025 will take place on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and on Mozart's 269th birthday.
Press comments
It is an evening full of surprises: singers, dancers and choir interact with each other in a way that is rarely seen in music theatre.
Kurier
27. January 2025
Deadly-fulminant ballet evening!
APA
26. January 2025
It's marvellous (...) how artistically all the singers integrate themselves into the choreography and how some of the dancers also prove themselves as speakers.
Die Presse
27. January 2025
Meir Wellber leads the orchestra and choir of the Volksoper with tempo and drive. The music is played with precision. The transitions between the works are successful. The Vienna State Ballet and the vocal soloists Rebecca Nelsen, Josef Wagner, Daniel Schmutzhard and Wallis Giunta are convincing.
Kronen Zeitung
27. January 2025
The dance of the Vienna State Ballet, especially the soloists, is so captivating and vivid that the emotions and the story unfold clearly before the audience's eyes.
APA
26. January 2025
The Volksoper Chorus was outstanding – it’s wonderful to hear a proper operatic chorus unleashed on repertory like this.
Opera Now, gramophone.co.uk
27. January 2025
