Photo: Marta Syrko

Dutch National Opera

Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny

Kurt Weill (1900-1950)

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Dates

6-27 Sep 2023

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage

Running time

TBA

Tickets

From € 28

From consumer paradise to hell on earth

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.

Photo: Marta Syrko

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.

Start of ticket sales

General ticket sales for Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny start on 9 May 2023 at 12.00 midday. Want to make sure you don’t miss this moment? Then sign up for the ticket alert, and we’ll send you a reminder as soon as ticket sales begin.

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

Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny door Opera Ballet Vlaanderen|Photo: Annemie Augustijns

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General ticket sales start on 9 May 2023 at 12.00 midday.

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Photo: Florian Braakman

Director Ivo van Hove on Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny

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Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra have been the main orchestral partners of Dutch National Opera for over thirty years. They are regarded as among the best opera orchestras in the world. The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is the main regular stage for their concerts.

Photo: Melle Meivogel

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

In addition to the programmes with chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti and Gordan Nicolić (musical leader of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra), the orchestras collaborate with both internationally acclaimed guest conductors and soloists and top-class musicians from the up-and-coming generation. The orchestras perform at numerous venues, bringing people together through their music and giving both classical music aficionados and new audiences the perfect musical experience. With their welcoming home base in the NedPhO Dome in Amsterdam’s Indische Buurt neighbourhood, the two orchestras are at the heart of the community and aim to make classical music accessible to everyone who shows an interest.

In the 2023/2024 season, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing the operas Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Lohengrin, Il trittico and Oedipus Rex / Antigone.The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra can be heard in Die Zauberflöte and Roberto Devereux.