Krenek: The Secret Kingdom for the first time in Italy

Festival della Valle d’Itria Martina Franca

Shortly after he completed his tragic opera Der Diktator, Ernst Krenek started work on another one-act opera whose subtitle (Märchenoper – fairy tale opera) already suggests that it is set in an entirely different world, with regard to both the message and the music. Today, Das geheime Königreich (The Secret Kingdom) would probably be described as a “green” work: it proclaims the advantages of life away from power, away from towns, away from civilisation – amidst nature, the secret kingdom where the tortured ruler in Krenek’s libretto finally finds peace.

On 24 July Krenek’s one act opera will receive its Italian première at the Festival della Valle d’Itria. Roman Brogli-Sacher conducts the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia in a production by Franco Ripa di Meana.