“What fleeing sounds like”

In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Michael Ernst reports beginning by drawing a remarkable historical parallel:
“November 9 is a fateful date. In 1848, Robert Blum was shot and the March Revolution ended; in 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated. As a result of the November Revolution and in the wake of Germany’s looming defeat in World War I, Hitler’s coup against the Weimar Republic failed in Munich in 1923. Fifteen years later, pogroms against everything Jewish in Germany took place under his rule, and finally, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. The ambivalence of this date continues: in 2025, there was a questionable ‘Seitenwechsel’ (change of pagesor sides) in Halle, declared to be a book fair, while in Dresden, a melodrama about the Holocaust premiered.”

It is noteworthy that both regional and national newspapers unanimously reported on the premiere in a very impressed, positive, and extensive manner. The reviewers combine the very accurately captured contemporary historical aspects with an evaluation of the artistic concept and the performance of all those involved.

“The large cast of choir, orchestra, narrators, and soloists (creates) an atmosphere of constant unease. … It is almost unbearable to watch the protagonist Otto Silbermann (Ulrich Noethen) desperately clinging to the last remnants of normality,” writes Klara Prautzsch in the Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten (November 11), recalling the successful conveyance of the oppressive mood of the novel on which the opera is based.

“The orchestra imitates the rush of the escape, with train noises added in recordings, a breathless whirlwind,” Egbert Tholl characterizes in the full-page article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (November 11). The fact that several reviewers highlight the lighting design (Alexander Hauer) points to a director who thought beyond the stage action.

In the Sächsische Zeitung on November 12, Karsten Blüthgen notes: “The audience in the Kulturpalast, on average younger than usual for classical concerts here, reacted with emotion, giving a standing ovation after 70 minutes.”

The fact that Jan Müller-Wieland’s concept and libretto condense much of the original work is not a shortcoming, but is seen as a necessary and successful compression.

Ulrich Boschwitz fell victim to the sinking of the Abosso at the age of only 27.

To the Dunera biography

“Jan Müller-Wieland’s music sharpens our awareness of what it means to be human and shows how quickly moral principles can be lost,” writes Shoko Kuroe for Backstage Classical (online). However, all the reports there point out that the piece also fights against resignation. “Even in the deepest distress, there is still room for humanity.”

All reviewers highlight the ensemble’s performance. The Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten observed “its visibly moved audience.” It “felt that a musical monument was being erected here for all those who were persecuted and marginalized” (Backstage Classical).

Müller-Wieland’s “composition achieves an oppressive topicality, illuminating the breadth of human experience between violence, exclusion, discrimination, lawlessness, and the enduring power of hope and humanity—a warning and a call to defend the diversity of our democracy. A performance that moves and deeply touches the listener as they leave the theater!“ Bernd Runge concludes his review (Der Opernfreund, online, November 11).

”The mixture of concert and theatrical staging also makes the piece a timeless examination.” (Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten)

In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (November 12), Michael Ernst picks up on the socio-political thread: “A broad civil society (has) participated in the expulsion, expropriation, and murder of Jews. The memory of this should not be limited to any particular date.”

Works that connect “big” history with its impact on ‘ordinary’ people and find new ways to bring this home to the audience are rare enough. One can only agree with Egbert Tholl’s wish that the Dresden performance “should not remain the only one of this work.” “What fleeing sounds like,” as the title suggests, is something that unfortunately still needs to be heard today by those who are willing to listen.