Der zerbrochene Krug / Des Esels Schatten

The double bill with two operas by Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949) presents two comic works that have a lot in common in terms of content, as they both revolve around a court case. They were written by two contemporaries whose lives took very different paths. While Strauss was the most successful German opera composer of his time, who also came to terms with the Nazi regime, Ullmann was murdered in Auschwitz. The combination of these two operas, with their different biographies, sensitizes us to aspects of the bending of the law and abuse of power. Ullmann completed his opera based on Kleist's popular comedy in 1942 shortly before his deportation. Des Esels Schatten (The Donkey's Shadow), based on an ancient subject, is Richard Strauss' last stage work, which he began in 1947 and in which his experiences of the dictatorship inevitably resonate.