A Greek village at the beginning of the 1920s. The inhabitants have just distributed the roles for the upcoming Passion Play when a group of refugees appears and desperately asks for help. The characters of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and the disciples soon become a new reality for the participants and subject them to a painful test: Who am I? Who can I become? And what does it take to be a good person? The young shepherd Manolios, increasingly convinced of his role as Jesus Christ, grows beyond himself - and in the end becomes a martyr. The Greek Passion deals with the most important themes of our coexistence: humanity and charity. It tells the story of a society that first has to painstakingly reassure itself of the practical obligations of the Christian faith...
The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů wrote The Greek Passion against the backdrop of his own personal experiences of migration and expulsion. After ten years in exile in the USA, he returned to Europe in 1953. He died in Switzerland in 1959. He found the tragic subject matter for his 15th and final opera in the Greek peace activist and author of Alexis Sorbas Nikos Kazantzakis.
With its variety of styles ranging from Greek folk song and Orthodox liturgy to dramatic operatic singing and large oratorio-like choirs, The Greek Passion is one of the most magnificent and haunting operas of the 20th century.
Premiere April 11, 2025
Further performances: April 22 and 25, May 3, 8 and 11, 2025
