Philippe Boesmans’ opera Reigen is based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1897 play of the same name and transforms its unsparing social critique into a late-20th-century musical-dramatic form. In ten interconnected scenes, the opera portrays encounters between pairs of characters who love, desire, or exploit one another. In each scene, one figure reappears in the next, creating a closed circle—a “round dance”, a “Reigen”—that spans all social classes. At its core are themes of sexuality, power, loneliness, and the difficulty of genuine intimacy.

Musically, Boesmans combines expressive vocal lines with a richly colored orchestration that is often chamber-like in its clarity. The result is a work that reinterprets Schnitzler’s provocative source for the modern stage and remains striking as psychologically incisive music theatre today.

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