Kasimir and Karoline are a couple – at least for the time being. After all, he is unemployed, may be facing deportation and that sort of thing does not leave love unscathed. How capitalism destroys human relationships – that was the message of the play by Ödön von Horváth, premiered in 1932 and conceived as a dance on the volcano’s edge: a wicked, witty piece of folk theatre as criticism of the status quo.

In Hanover, 90 years later, Kasimir und Karoline is transformed into a glam-rock opera for the 21st century. The US-American musical theatre expert Jherek Bischoff, whose stage works have most recently been celebrated in London’s West End, combines the grand gestures of the musical with subtle, multi-coloured orchestra arrangements, and complements them with electronic sounds. Martin G. Berger, who recently staged Mozart’s Così fan tutte in Hanover, transposes the play into a seductive and dangerous night-club world, where an invitation to fly means more than a ride on a Zeppelin. To the sounds of brilliant pop music, the characters celebrate life and all its promises – while getting more and more lost in the night.

“Kasimir und Karoline has been adapted for the stage many times; it tells a very German story. But when I read it, I realised that it does have universal themes and characters that we can identify with, whether in a good or a bad way. I come from a rock and pop background and was taught how to arrange for orchestras by the music of the 1950s and 60s and by old Hollywood soundtracks. But since I’m interested in the synthesis of different sounds, my music combines many different genres. The music for Kasimir und Karoline is no exception; it has a traditional underscore, where characters speak with an accompanying orchestra, as well as modern rock elements and electronic sounds.” (Jherek Bischoff)