Last Days of the Opera

A major anthology on opera in an age of global instability, with testimonies from leading figures in the field

In his epic drama The Last Days of Mankind, written in 1922, the Viennese critic and satirist Karl Kraus ridiculed the interconnected ills of modernity that he saw as fueling the war machine: nationalism, capitalism, unbridled technological change and advancing militarism.

The text bears chilling parallels to our world in 2020. The aim of this anthology, named after Kraus, and which comprises some 100 essays, is to consider the relevance of opera in today’s dystopian world, and to look to possible developments in the genre in the foreseeable future.

The writers include opera professionals—singers, directors and conductors—as well as philosophers, artists, film directors and actors. The book also features works by artists such as the renowned stage designer Richard Peduzzi.

Authors include: Marina Abramovic, Laurie Anderson, Cecilia Bartoli, Georg Baselitz, George Benjamin, Robert Carsen, Amira Casar, Martin Crimp, Peter Gelb, Markus Hinterhäuser, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, Jonas Kaufmann, William Kentridge, Christian Lacroix, Daniel Libeskind, Christa Ludwig, Katie Mitchell, Jonathan Meese, Riccardo Muti, Shirin Neshat, Hermann Nitsch, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Richard Peduzzi, Denis Podalydès, Thaddaeus Ropac, Bogdan Roš?i?, Tilda Swinton, Keith Warner, Robert Wilson.