Photo: Jan Pieter Fuhr
World premiere of The Last Night of the World, chamber opera by Agustí Charles, on January 24, 2025 at the Staatstheater Augsburg, Germany.
The Catalan composer Agustí Charles, known for his innovative and interactive use of electronic devices that become instruments, together with his long-standing creative librettist, Marc Rosich, have created a work commissioned by the Staatstheater Augsburg, The Last Night of the World.
The libretto is based on a story by Ray Bradbury. A dream announces the end of the world. Confronted with the idea of the unimaginable, six couples seek their way through the last night on Earth. The original work is written in English and will be presented in Augsburg with German subtitles.
Composition: Agustí Charles
Libretto: Marc Rosich
Musical direction: Sebastiaan van Yperen
Stage direction: Jorinde Keesmaat
Set design: Nico de Rooij
Lighting: Moritz Fettinger
Costume design: Pascal Seibicke
Dramaturgy: Tamara Yasmin Quick
Performers:
Claire / Eve / Jane Jihyun Cecilia Lee
Kate / Anne / Rose Luise von Garnier
Max / Ralph / Sam Claudio Zazzaro
Ben / Stan / James Isaac Tolley
With musicians from the Augsburger Philharmoniker
Duration: approximately 100 minutes, without intermission.
Production: Staatstheater Augsburg
General & Artistic Director: André Bücker
Performances of The Last Night of the World at the brechtbühne im GasWerk of the Staatstheater Augsburg:
• Friday, 24 January 2025, 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 6 February 2025, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, 16 February 2025, 3:00 p.m.
• Friday, 4 April 2025, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, 25 April 2025, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, 22 June 2025, 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday, 6 July 2025, 3:00 p.m.
Following the thread of Andromeda…
Augsburg commissioned a new piece from composer Agustí Charles and libretist Marc Rosich after its artistic director saw the chamber opera Andromeda encadenada, composed by Agustí Charles with a libretto by Marc Rosich based on a text by the Basque writer Fátima Frutos. This work premiered in October 2021 at the Palau de la Música Catalana, within the framework of the “AI OPERA IA” conference organized by Òpera de Butxaca i Nova Creació (ÒBNC) on new technological challenges and artificial intelligence in the field of contemporary opera creation. A year later, Andrómeda encadenada was presented at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, Germany, as part of Spain’s programme as guest country of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The new work was World premiered on January 2025.
