Zar und Zimmermann

In the organizer's words:

Comic opera in three acts | Libretto by the composer

Duration: approx. 3 hours | one intermission | ages 12 and up

The Russian deserter Peter Ivanov works incognito in a Dutch shipyard and meets Peter Michaelov, who also pretends to be a carpenter, but is actually Tsar Peter I. Mistaken identities, intrigues and political tensions lead to turbulent entanglements, which are finally resolved in a humorous and conciliatory resolution.

Albert Lortzing is the declared darling of German opera. He himself played Peter Ivanov at the Leipzig premiere in 1837. Although he received bad press here, other cities soon turned "Zar und Zimmermann" into a box office hit. For director Dominik Wilgenbus and his set designer Udo Vollmer, Flemish painting is the source of visual inspiration.

"Wilgenbus succeeded admirably in ensuring that the familiar genre imagery is really out of the ordinary. What's more, everything in this varied, animated series of genre pictures is harmoniously arranged down to the last detail. Everything is full of surprises and hidden meanings. It is teeming with successful ideas, of which the slapstick-like, comical clog dance and the fabulously confident and lively choral scenes are certainly particular highlights."(Leipzig Almanac)