VIKTOR ULLMANN Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung (The Emperor of Atlantis or The Disobedience of Death)

(recording of the performance presented at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz 2025, 50 min.) with the participation of Dennis Russell Davies, Chief Conductor of the Filharmonie Brno and Gerfried Stocker, Artistic Director of the Ars Electronica Festival.

 A discussion with Lubomír Spurný and Jan Dobrovský in cooperation with Memory of Nations  after the screening.

The evening program here.

The anniversary of the end of the Second World War inspired us to present an extraordinary artistic work created in the Terezín concentration camp in 1943. Under unimaginable conditions, librettist and designer Peter Kien and composer Viktor Ullmann created a chamber opera entitled The Emperor of Atlantis or The Denial of Death (Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung) on the general theme of totalitarianism, which death refused to serve. The planned performance in Terezín was eventually banned by the Nazis, but fortunately the work survived. Today it is a frequently performed work around the world, and the Brno Philharmonic is involved in this year’s performance as a highlight of the renowned Ars Electronica festival in Linz. In co-production with this festival, Moravian Autumn is presenting a film version of the opera with a Czech translation. The premiere will be attended by Dennis Russell Davies, chief conductor of the Filharmonie Brno, and Gerfried Stocker, author of the visuals, followed by a discussion led by Lubomír Spurný, director of the Institute of Terezín Composers, and the journalist Jan Dobrovský, chairman of the Memory of Nations.

Marie Kučerová

We are grateful for the cooperation with