Tote Stadt Korngold Opera Mikko Frank

Die tote Stadt (The Dead City) unfolds in a dreamlike Venice where Paul, a widower consumed by grief, struggles to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Haunted by memories of his deceased wife Marie, Paul encounters Marietta, a dancer who bears a striking resemblance to his lost love. As Paul becomes increasingly obsessed with Marietta, he projects his idealized memories onto her, blurring the boundaries between past and present. The opera explores the dangerous allure of nostalgia and the human tendency to cling to the dead rather than embrace the living. Through a series of increasingly surreal encounters, Paul must confront whether his visions are genuine supernatural visitations or manifestations of his fractured psyche. The work culminates in a profound meditation on loss, acceptance, and the possibility of redemption through releasing one's grip on the past.