Riemannoper

About

Tom Johnson's Riemannoper transforms the dry, factual entries of a music dictionary into a turbulent and highly entertaining chamber opera. The libretto is constructed entirely from articles found in the Riemann Musiklexikon, a comprehensive standard reference work first published in 1882 by the Thuringian musicologist Hugo Riemann. The production at Theater Altenburg Gera leans into the inherent absurdity of the concept, creating a space where "infotainment meets opera madness." From the "Sortita" to the "Stretta," the staging features two rival prima donnas, a tenor, and a baritone who sing their way through dictionary definitions, turning a thick academic book into a tableau full of emotional explosions. The production serves as a clever homage to Riemann, who grew up near Sondershausen in Thuringia.