DER PROZESS (THE TRIAL) | GOTTFRIED VON EINEM
MusikTheater an der Wien at Kammeroper Wien | Walter Kobéra: Conductor | Stefan Herheim: Director l Klangforum Wien PPCM Academy
Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 14 February 2025 at 19:00 CET (GMT+1).
Available until 14 August 2025
Kafka’s The Trial continues to resonate in the modern world, and Gottfried von Einem’s 1953 opera adaptation brings that eerie, timeless sense of existential dread to the stage. The opera opens with the famous line: “Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested.” This marks the beginning of a journey through a bizarre, bureaucratic world where Josef K. is accused of an unknown crime and ensnared in a Kafkaesque web of absurdity.
Von Einem’s music, with its pulsing rhythms and elements of jazz and twelve-tone techniques, captures the surreal terror of the novel while preserving the grotesque humor that defines Kafka’s work. This production, arranged by Tobias Leppert as a chamber opera, offers a fresh and intimate interpretation, conducted by Walter Kobéra and directed by Stefan Herheim. It promises to be an engaging exploration of a world where the rules of logic are continuously subverted.
This production, a co-production with Neue Oper Wien, is an innovative collaboration with students from some of Austria’s leading music universities, bringing fresh energy to a contemporary classic. With support from the Gottfried von Einem Music Foundation, this is a performance that blends tradition and experimentation.
OVERVIEW
Gottfried von Einem (1918–1996) was an Austrian composer known for his distinctive blend of tonal tradition and modern influences. His music often incorporated elements of jazz, rhythmic vitality, and echoes of twelve-tone techniques while maintaining lyrical expressiveness. He gained early recognition with his opera “Dantons Tod” (1947), based on Georg Büchner’s play, which established him as a leading figure in postwar European opera.
His most famous work, “Der Prozess” (1953), adapted from Kafka’s The Trial, reflects his fascination with existential themes and dramatic intensity. Throughout his career, von Einem composed operas, symphonies, and chamber music, balancing innovation with accessibility.
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