Synopsis
Venice: a breathtaking assemblage of art treasures, churches and palazzos built on marshy terrain. The city, sinking inexorably into the lagoon, is a metaphor for Gustav von Aschenbach’s current state of mind. The author is in the grip of writer’s block; cold baths and rigid discipline - the codes of his Prussian ancestors - are no longer helping. An ominous traveller exhorts him to travel to balmier southern climes. Once ensconced in the city of a thousand canals, Aschenbach finds himself riven by inner conflict as never before: he is transfixed by Tadzio and is caught up in a sensory whirl of obsession and debasement. Meanwhile cholera is quietly spreading through the city … Britten’s DEATH IN VENICE had its German premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1974. The work, staged by Graham Vick, is now returning as part of the Britten season under the baton of Donald Runnicles.Conductor: Donald Runnicles; Director: Graham Vick; Fith Paul Nilon, Seth Carico, Tai Oney et al.; Chorus and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Premiered at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 19 March 2017
