Der Kreidekreis

A chalk circle, a child in the centre. Each child's arm is pulled by a woman who claims to be the mother. "The right mother will have the right strength," says Prince Pao - it will be the one who lets go of her child so as not to tear it apart. By the time Haitang is able to hold her child in her arms again, she has an odyssey of injustice under her belt. Abandoned, sold, mistreated, slandered and convicted of murder, it is nothing short of a miracle that justice unexpectedly receives strong intercession here.

In 1925, Klabund's play "Der Kreidekreis" (The Chalk Circle), based on a 14th century Chinese musical play, was premiered, in which a person is mercilessly exposed to the arbitrariness of power. Alexander Zemlinsky's opera celebrated its premiere in 1933 - in Zurich, after he was forced to flee Berlin as a Jewish composer. "Der Kreidekreis" is a fascinating mixture of fairy tale, social drama and caricature, and the music is just as dazzling, ranging from late Romanticism à la Strauss and Mahler, jazz sounds, Far Eastern gong chimes and cabaret scenes reminiscent of Kurt Weill. There will be speaking, singing and acting - the score will be staged by award-winning director David Bösch, who is equally at home in theatre and opera.