Die Vorüberlaufenden
At night, a man comes running towards you in the street. Should you talk to him? Does he need help? In his short story “The passers-by”, Franz Kafka describes a situation that challenges you to consider whether to intervene—and, if you don’t, at least to demand justification for your inaction.
Kafka's text raises fundamental questions about moral courage, humanity, and civil disobedience. This is the starting point for Gerhild Steinbuch’s libretto, put to music by composer Andrej Koroliov.
The audience is seated on either side of an imposing bridge that cuts through the space — the opera’s former wood workshop. As situations on stage grow increasingly more tense, the bridge teases the characters into certain patterns and positions.
musical directionVicente Larrañaga
directionTheresa von Halle
dramaturgySebastian Hanusa
scenography, costume and light designSammy Van den Heuvel
/Deutsche Oper Berlin 2021
(c) Sammy Van den Heuvel(c) Sammy Van den Heuvel(c) Eike Walkenhorst(c) Eike Walkenhorst(c) Eike Walkenhorst(c) Eike Walkenhorst(c) Sammy Van den Heuvel(c) Eike Walkenhorst(c) Sammy Van den Heuvel(c) Eike Walkenhorst