On the Nature of Dictatorship: Shostakovich and Krenek
- Date 29 January 2022 - 7.30 p.m. - 29 January 2022 - 9.00 p.m.
- Location Auditorium, Garden Quad
In this programme, the Oxford Alternative Orchestra invites the audience into a musical meditation on the nature of power, music, and dictatorship. The first half of the programme features Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 – a staunch statement he made about the nature of governmental control over music in the Soviet Union during the time of Stalin.
The second half of the programme features a fully staged, 35-minute opera: Ernst Krenek’s ‘The Dictator’. Written in 1928, the title character is loosely based on the historical Benito Mussolini. This opera in two scenes invites speculation on how power corrupts not just politics, but the personal life and loves of the dictator.
Music director: Hannah von Wiehler
Director: Jonny Danciger
Cast:
The Dictator: John Ieuan Jones
Maria: Holly Teague
Charlotte: Charlotte Pawley
The Officer: William Anderson
The Oxford Alternative Orchestra is supported by St John's College.