Lass uns die Welt vergessen - Volksoper 1938 - Volksoper Wien - 2026

Volksoper Wien, Wien

Operetta has always been a form of escapism, an escape from everyday life into another world, a dream world. But what happens when everyday reality can no longer be ignored? What if the events unfolding in the world are so terrible that they cannot simply be forgotten?

In the first months of 1938, current political events make their way into the Volksoper, right in the middle of rehearsals for the operetta Greetings and Kisses from the Wachau (Gruß und Kuss aus der Wachau). What do intolerance, discrimination, and fascism do to the employees of the Volksoper?

Political debates and accusations undermine cooperation. As rehearsals progress, the Nazi takeover brings dramatic changes to the Volksoper: dismissals take place at every level of the institution, affecting opera singers, conductors, orchestra musicians, and librettists alike. People are persecuted because of their Jewish heritage or their political views. A compelling look into the mirror of the past can also mean confronting a painful chapter in the history of the Volksoper. This is something we do not wish to avoid.

Today’s ensemble portrays the ensemble of that time.

In Let Us Forget the World (Lass uns die Welt vergessen), director Theu Boermans brings the beautiful, cheerful entertainment of the Beneš operetta back to the Volksoper stage and contrasts it with the cold political reality of the Nazi era. Conductor Keren Kagarlitsky reconstructed the score of Greetings and Kisses from the Wachau by Jara Beneš from the limited surviving source material.