Ilija Trojanow is a writer, intellectual, enthusiastic opera lover – and Writer in Residence at the MusikTheater an der Wien for the 2025/26 season. On selected dates, he will enrich various productions of the season not only as an author but also as a knowledgeable presenter of a talk format: in Operama, he and his guests will broaden the view of selected works from the programme with new perspectives, surprising insights and links to social issues.

Philipp Ther will be the guest at the premiere on 12 October. In his latest book, Der Klang der Monarchie (The Sound of Monarchy), the historian describes the history of the Habsburg Empire as a close interplay of power and music, in which ‘Habsburg pop’ from Mozart to Strauss ultimately survived the collapse of the empire. Ilija Trojanow has invited Ther to talk to him about musical theatre, but also about Austria in the past and present. The occasion is (of course!) the new production of Die Fledermaus.