Lady Magnesia

Composer Mieczysław Weinberg.

Libretto by the composer after the translation of George Bernard Shaw into Russian by Vera Stanevich English text version by David Fanning.

Opera in one act (1975)

In English language. With surtitles in German and English.

Siobhan Stagg as Lady Magnesia (ph. Wilfried Hösl)

The theme of the February 2024 Themenkonzert was “Humor.” What’s intriguing in Lady Magnesia is the use of humor to address a very serious subject: domestic violence, violence against women in the home, and femicide. The driving force behind Lady Magnesia’s husband’s actions is his own male fragility. Male fragility, which extends beyond resistance to weakness or emotion, encompasses the inability to accept a lack of entitlement. Most importantly for Lady Magnesia, it includes a violent aversion to being mocked or devalued, which inevitably brings the authorship of humor into critical focus.

Synopsis

Text

Programbooklet

The textcollage for the program booklet with the title Witz Anonymous: Let it Magnesia has been authored by Theresa Maria Schlichtherle together with Est Roman Coulon. Graphics by Paola Momenté.

Videolink Dress Rehearsal

For access to the video for research and press purposes contact us at schlicht.theresa@gmail.com