Black comedies, whodunnits, or opera parodies? The one-act opera Lady Magnesia (composed in 1975) and Zweimal Alexander (Alexandre Bis, composed in 1937) defy labels just as their two versatile creators, Mieczysław Weinberg and Bohuslav Martinů, do. Both works start from the same premise: A husband accuses his wife of being unfaithful and takes the action that seems to him to be appropriate. But these plans immediately spiral out of control: George intends to murder Magnesia but instead allows himself to be caught up in a discussion with her. Alexandre, on the other hand, stages a comedy of mistaken identities to test his wife’s loyalty, or lack of it – and that’s what makes her start dreaming of an extramarital affair in the first place. Where the curtain falls on Mozart’s Così fan tutte, for example, is where these works are just getting going: will the men’s suspicious minds lead to a happy ending? Will demanding proof of faithfulness bring the certainty they long for, or will it simply destroy the relationship? In the end, the two operas find different answers, which both Weinberg and Martinů express with ironic breaks, jazzy intermezzi and outrageous inventiveness.

In German with German and English surtitles
Introduction to the work 30 minutes before curtain-up