09.05.2026

ANTHEA BARAĆ in a new production of Korngold's Die tote Stadt

In 1920, at the age of just 23, Erich Wolfgang Korngold created Die tote Stadt, a subtle interplay of dream and reality exploring the process of coming to terms with grief. Whilst the narrative layers become inextricably intertwined, Korngold developed a finely crafted score that elevates ‘dream work’ to a musical principle. His overwhelming, richly coloured instrumentation transforms the story of Paul and Marietta into a symphonic journey of a fateful encounter.

With Die tote Stadt, director Ilaria Lanzino turns her gaze to a realm beyond the threshold – a post-mortem descent into the world of a woman who took her own life. Following the sudden loss, those left behind are left with questions that will not let them go. At the centre is Paul, whose search leads him into the depths of an elusive truth: who was the woman by his side – and what about her remained hidden from him during her lifetime? Between memory and hallucination, longing and illusion, a multi-layered chamber drama unfolds about loss, enigmatic closeness and the impossibility of ever fully knowing another.

In her first season as a permanent ensemble member of the Hanover State Opera, Anthea Barać follows Dusapin’s Penthesilea with her second new production at the theatre, making her role debut as Brigitta.
 

Cast

Mirko Roschkowski; Paul
Kiandra Howarth, Marietta; dancer
Peter Schöne, Frank; Paul’s friend
Anthea Barać, Brigitta; with Paul
Julia Sturzlbaum, Juliette; dancer
Cassandra Doyle, Lucienne; dancer
Michał Prószyński, Victorin; the director
Max Dollinger, Fritz; Pierrot

Mario Hartmuth, Musical Director
Ilaria Lanzino, Director
Martin Hickmann, Set Design
Vanessa Rust, Costumes
Johannes Paul Volk, Lighting
Max Schweder, Video
Lorenzo Da Rio, Chorus
Tatjana Bergh, Children’s Chorus
Christian Förnzler, Dramaturgy
Siiri Niittymaa, Xchange

Lower Saxony State Orchestra, Hanover
Chorus of the Hanover State Opera
Children’s Chorus of the Hanover State Opera