A place where anything goes – as long as you pay. That is the new city of Mahagonny, founded by three criminals on the run. Together, they fleece its new citizens by making them pay through the nose for a real consumer paradise. But this world of cravings, sex and alcohol soon turns into a veritable hell.
From consumer paradise to hell on earth
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, with its story of people driven by crisis to search for better alternatives, seems more relevant than ever in a time of high inflation and democracies under pressure. With his libretto, the dramatist Bertolt Brecht did what he was good at: producing socially relevant theatre that criticised the capitalist consumer society of the 1930s. With Kurt Weill’s sparkling music, which combines a classical style of composition with jazzy tunes, and Brecht’s pioneering theatrical techniques, the renowned duo broke new ground in the opera genre.
Modern-day techniques
After his riveting Salome, leading stage director Ivo van Hove returns to Dutch National Opera with this masterpiece. Using techniques from the world of film such as green screens and live camera images, he has turned this famous opera about the deceptive city of gold into a highly topical story, one that leaves a lasting impression. With celebrated soprano Evelyn Herlitzius making her debut in the role of fraudster Leokadja Begbick, rising star Lauren Michelle as the prostitute Jenny and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor Markus Stenz, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny is set to be an impressive opener to the season.
Performance information
Opera in three acts
Sung in German
Libretto Bertolt Brecht
Musical direction Markus Stenz
Stage direction Ivo van Hove
Set and lighting design Jan Versweyveld
Costume design An D’Huys
Video Tal Yarden
Dramaturgy Koen Tachelet
Leokadja Begbick Evelyn Herlitzius
Fatty Alan Oke
Dreieinigkeitsmoses Thomas Johannes Mayer
Jenny Hill Lauren Michelle
Jim Mahoney Nikolai Schukoff
Jack O’Brien/Tobby Higgins Iain Milne
Bill Martin Mkhize
Chorus of Dutch National Opera
Chorus master Ad Broeksteeg
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Coproduction with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.
Photo: Marta Syrko
