If you could change the world right now, what would you do? „Change the world!“ by Mart van Berckel and Pedro Beriso, showing at Semper Zwei, provides a great opportunity to reflect on this and a whole host of other questions. The production aims to transport the audience to the day after a revolution: in a room full of empty chairs (the remnants of barricades), four singers meet after devastating events to reflect, to mourn and to hope … and also to think of a way forward. But they are not alone. They are joined by spoken-word artist Amara van der Elst as a figure who is simultaneously both inside and outside events. According to Mart van Berckel: “Like a presenter or a storyteller, she is responsible for what happens on stage; she can press ‘play’ or ‘pause’, rewind or fast-forward. She’s the motor driving the performance.” She addresses the audience directly with challenging texts, constantly throwing up questions that demand an answer. Amara van der Elst partly drew these questions from the lyrics of the songs which, like a collage, were compiled for this production. The music from both the 19th and 20th centuries runs from Ludwig van Beethoven to Hanns Eisler. Alongside a heady sense of revolutionary tension, the production creates space for personal reflection. „Change the world!“ That’s not a challenge but rather an invitation to tackle difficult questions.

Ändere die Welt!

Semperoper Dresden

Based on Voltaire’s satire „Candide ou l’optimisme“, Leonard Bernstein created a masterpiece of modern operetta about the madness of the world. In a witty and lively mixture of opera, musical and revue, he not only parodies traditional dance forms such as the gavotte, mazurka, polka and waltz, but also slyly sprinkles the score with the operatic quotations.

Vladyslav Buyalskiy

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 9, 2024 - Jan 7, 2025

Ändere die Welt! · Semperoper Dresden

11 - 18 May, 2025

Candide · Semperoper Dresden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Doctor · Inquisitor II in Candide by Bernstein

Semperoper Dresden

An Old Man in Ändere die Welt! by Beriso

Semperoper Dresden

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