When morality and justice are understood differently
Music theater by Samuel Penderbayne and Theresa von Halle
Libretto based on a story by Ferdinand von Schirach
Performed in German
Premiere
5. June 2027
Dates & Cast
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
- Staging Theresa von Halle
- Bühne & Kostüme Valentin Baumeister
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Gesang Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein
- Piano Henriette Zahn
Related event
In brief
Can one truly defend injustice with a clear conscience? The young lawyer Seyma has traded her conservative upbringing for a career in criminal defence. Her first task: to represent a client accused of human trafficking and pimping. He is convicted following the testimony of a victim of forced prostitution – yet Seyma, acting in accordance with the law, lodges an appeal. By the time of the next hearing, there is no trace of the witness.
How much humanity is there in our legal system? When guilt is proven, how can a criminal still be acquitted under the law? What exactly do we mean by “justice” when the answer depends on the framework, namely moral or legal? In Ferdinand von Schirach’s short story Subotnik, there are no answers, only simple questions. The term “Subbotnik” was coined in the Soviet Union, where it referred to unpaid voluntary work done on Saturdays (Subbota being Russian for “Saturday”) – a cynical title for a story about forced prostitution. With his characteristic detachment, von Schirach, himself a trained lawyer, merely describes the events without passing judgement.
The opera based on this story similarly offers no clear answers or positions, instead inviting the audience to think through the questions themselves. Australian composer Samuel Penderbayne and German librettist and director Theresa von Halle have transformed von Schirach’s Subotnik into a gripping piece of contemporary music theatre, which won the 2022 Berlin Opera Prize comPOSITION.
Together, they have revised and expanded the work specially for the Semperoper Dresden.
