Concentration camp opera returns as a graphic novel
NewsThe tragic history of The Emperor of Atlantis is well-known. Composed by Viktor Ullmann with writer Peter Kien while prisoners in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the children’s opera was suppressed by Nazi guards before it could be performed. All involved were put on a train to Auschwitz, most to their deaths.
From today’s press release:
This fall, Berger Books and Dark Horse Comics are proud to present their story in a form that the two authors never imagined: as a riveting graphic novel that combines dystopian sci-fi, mythic fantasy, and zombie horror to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.
DEATH STRIKES: THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS is written by Electronic Frontier Foundation Director of Investigations Dave Maass and illustrated by Patrick Lay, and features character designs by Ezra Rose and lettering by Richard Bruning. The graphic novel’s extensive back section will include a historical essay on the opera’s creators, the horrific circumstances in which it was created, and the unlikely path of the composition’s survival. The book also includes Kien’s artwork, photographs, and more.
“Written in a concentration camp, Peter Kien and Viktor Ullmann’s opera is the truest form of artistic resistance, a middle finger to the Nazis and all authoritarians across history,” said writer Dave Maass. “By adapting this fierce, genre-blending satire, we hope to introduce this nearly lost masterpiece to new audiences–and to challenge the tyrants of today.”
“We’ve incorporated Peter Kien’s own incredible artwork, excellent character designs by Ezra Rose and the architecture of Terezín and Prague to craft visuals draped in passing shadows, smoke and vapor,” said artist Patrick Lay. “From the book’s ’Realm of the Unreal’ to the streets of Atlantis, the history of resistance against oppression and censorship is ingrained in the world.”
Kaiser of Atlantis is not the children’s opera . You’re confusing it with Brundibar, I think .
And with the AfD polling 19% in Germany, the whiff of Adolf remains in the air, to say nothing of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party which is a direct descendant of Benito. And all with Trump on the horizon…
And of course you would lean towards a party that had the “whiff” of Stalin, Putin, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Un or dare we say Uncle Jo Biden who seems to be leading America into a state of anarchy. So come on Willi, get off the fence and tell us where you stand!
Easy to answer. All the people you mention are monsters. I don’t lean toward them at all. Most of the radicalism these days aren’t on the left.
Mr Osborne would just claim socialism/communism/Marxism can’t be judged yet because the actual philosophies haven’t been correctly utilized by nation-builders.
Hogwash, rubbish, and nonsense – things that suck fail.
No, I wouldn’t claim that, though I will say that the two responses here are so inane that I’m not bothering with them.
What you mean is that when challenged about your views you are unable to explain the rationale of your statement, and your contention that “most of the radicalism isn’t on the left” is pure bullshit. So come on Willi get off the fence and tell us where your real sympathies lie!
I conducted the mid-Atlantic premiere of “Emperor” in fall 1991, rehearsed at the same time as an anniversary production of “Magic Flute”. Quite an experience. Ullmann was an enormously gifted composer who paradoxically seemed to flourish under adverse circumstances [sometimes self-created]
“ I conducted the mid-Atlantic premiere…”
Mid-Atlantic? Was that on an island or a ship?