DER KONTRABASS

In the organizer's words:

It is the heart of the orchestra, the pulse of the music, the undisputed king of all compositions: The nameless protagonist in Patrick Süskind's The Double Bass melts in love and reverence for his instrument. However, his rising alcohol level gradually brings his true feelings to light, and he goes on a tirade of hatred about the "filthy box". Loneliness and an unfulfilled longing for the soprano Sarah add to the double bassist's bitter emotional world. A psychogram unfolds of a man who has never been allowed to play what he really feels.

With disarming honesty, tragicomic force and razor-sharp observation, Süskind's text penetrates deep into the inner tensions of its protagonist. What begins as an ironically fractured portrait of a musician grows into an intense reflection on social invisibility, suppressed passion and loneliness in one's own head. The double bass becomes a metaphor - for what we carry around with us, even though it weighs us down.

Patrick Süskind was born in Ambach on Lake Starnberg in 1949. He is best known for his global bestseller Perfume, but he already caused a sensation in 1981 with The Double Bass. Süskind's precise language, his subtle humor and his ability to make the abysses in everyday characters visible distinguish him as a master of psychological storytelling.