Fin de Partie (Endspiel)

In the organizer's words:

Opera by György Kurtág - Libretto by the composer based on Samuel Beckett's drama - In French with German surtitles.

There seem to be only four people left in the world: the blind and paralyzed Hamm, his servant Clov, who can no longer sit, and Hamm's parents Nagg and Nell, who have lost their legs. However, the last survivors can not stand each other so much. And yet fate has bound them inseparably together, as one cannot exist without the other. Four people in a borderline situation between life and death.

György Kurtág (*1926) is one of the most internationally successful contemporary composers, but it was not until he was very old that he wrote a work for the opera stage, Fin de Partie. Based on Samuel Beckett's one-act drama, he spent seven years creating a richly colored and finely woven universe of sound. The premiere at La Scala in Milan in 2018 was a major event that was received internationally. With rare unambiguity, Fin de Partie was voted "Premiere of the Year" for the 2018/19 season.

Ingo Kerkhof, who has already directed the German premiere Quartett and Lohengrin at Oper Dortmund, is a specialist of psychological drama. With sensitivity and an eye for detail, he explores the complexity of the characters. In a special spatial conception, the audience sits on the opera stage. Ingo Kerkhof's new production of Fin de Partie is the world's first scenic reinterpretation of this opera since Pierre Audi premiered it at La Scala in Milan in 2018.

With Frode Olsen and Leonardo Cortellazzi, two participants of the Milan premiere will also be part of the scenic German premiere at Oper Dortmund.

• The performance on May 11, 2024 will take place as part of Wagner-Kosmos V "Mythos und Wahrheit".

Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in cooperation with the NRW KULTURsekretariat.
Funded by Fonds Neues Musiktheater 2023.

Cast:

Hamm Frode Olsen
Clov Morgan Moody
Nell Ruth Katharina Peeck
Nagg Leonardo Cortellazzi

Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra

Musical direction Johannes Kalitzke
Direction Ingo Kerkhof
Stage and costumes Anne Neuser
Lighting N.N.
Dramaturgy Dr. Daniel C. Schindler
Study management Thomas Hannig
Production management Fabian Schäfer
Assistant Director Dominik Kastl
stage management Ulas Nagler, Alexander Becker
Musical assistance Karsten Scholz
Stage design assistance Lara Manon Elena König
Costume assistance N.N.