Robinson

Chamber opera for self-playing pianos,
machines and seven islands (2023)

Music by

Oscar Strasnoy

Text by

Sigrid Behrens

Comissioned by the Staatsoper Unter den Linden

For Robinson Crusoe, the only survivor to be washed up onto the beach of a desert island after a shipwreck, what first appears to be paradise quickly turns out to be a place of damnation. Based on Daniel Defoe’s classic novel from 1719, composer Oscar Strasnoy and playwright Sigrid Behrens link the story to how some people in modern society live in isolation.

Their thoughts are condensed into reflections on aspects of life in seclusion – both the withdrawal into inner worlds or escape into parallel ones. The work explores how isolated people deal with time, their struggle against loneliness and emptiness, and their search for greater meaning in life.

Dates

programme book

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