Last Days of the Opera

The title is inspired by the epic drama The Last Days of Mankind by Karl Kraus. Published in full in 1922, its author ridicules the interconnected ills of modernity that he saw as fueling the war machine (nationalism, capitalism, unbridled technology, militarism, journalistic unscrupulousness) as well as the Viennese cultural scene of the time. The drama bears chilling parallels to our world in 2020. The goal of the anthology, which includes some 100 essays, is to consider the relevance of opera in today's dystopian world and to look to possible developments in the genre in the foreseeable future.

The writers include opera professionals: singers, directors, and conductors as well as creative minds from other fields, like philosophers, artists, film directors, and actors. The book features an iconography of original works by famous artists, in particular those of the renowned stage designer Richard Peduzzi.

Authors include: Marina Abramovic, Laurie Anderson, Cecilia Bartoli, Georg Baselitz, George Benjamin, Robert Carsen, Amira Casar, Martin Crimp, Peter Gelb, Markus Hinterhauser, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, Jonas Kaufmann, William Kentridge, Christian Lacroix, Daniel Libeskind, Christa Ludwig, Katie Mitchell, Jonathan Meese, Riccardo Muti, Shirin Neshat, Hermann Nitsch, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Richard Peduzzi, Denis Podalydès, Thaddaeus Ropac, Bogdan Roscic, Tilda Swinton, Keith Warner, Robert Wilson.

Christian Kircher is Executive Director of Bundestheater-Holding GmbH in Vienna.

Gert Korentschnig is an opera critic (Wiener Kurier).

Denise Wendel-Poray, writer, critic, and former opera singer, is the author of several books and essays on the relationship between art, theatre, and music. She recently published Painting the Stage/i> (Skira, 2019).

A major anthology on opera in an age of global instability, with testimonies from leading figures in the field In his epic drama The Last Days of Mankind , written in 1922, the Viennese critic and satirist Karl Kraus ridiculed the interconnected ills of modernity that he saw as fueling the war machine: nationalism, capitalism, unbridled technological change and advancing militarism. The text bears chilling parallels to our world in 2020. The aim of this anthology, named after Kraus, and which comprises some 100 essays, is to consider the relevance of opera in today's dystopian world, and to look to possible developments in the genre in the foreseeable future. The writers include opera professionals--singers, directors and conductors--as well as philosophers, artists, film directors and actors. The book also features works by artists such as the renowned stage designer Richard Peduzzi. Authors include: Marina Abramovic, Laurie Anderson, Cecilia Bartoli, Georg Baselitz, George Benjamin, Robert Carsen, Amira Casar, Martin Crimp, Peter Gelb, Markus Hinterh

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.