Die tote Stadt at New National Theatre Tokyo

Photographs, paintings, a lock of hair. Paul clings to the memory of his dead wife, caught between a happy past and an uncertain future.

Can Mariette, who bears an uncanny likeness to his dead wife, help him leave the shadowlands? Or is it a journey he must make all by himself?

Opera Australia presents the Australian premiere of Die tote Stadt, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Stefan Vinke as Paul and Cheryl Barker in the dual roles of Marie and Mariette.

Korngold is best known as one of Hollywood’s first film composers, with classics such as The Sea Hawk, starring Errol Flynn, to his name. But before film came opera. Die tote Stadt, ‘The Dead City’, is a masterpiece of the twentieth century, full of soaring vocal writing and lush orchestration, reminiscent of Puccini and Richard Strauss.

This production breaks new ground for opera in Australia. On stage, pictures will come to life using holographic technology. Off stage, Korngold’s sumptuous orchestral textures will fill the Opera Theatre with state-of-the-art cinematic surround sound, coming from a live performance from the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra in the Opera House Studio.

Performed in German with English surtitles.
Running time: Approximately two hours and forty minutes with one twenty-minute interval.