Die+Tote+Stadt

The Die tote Stadt (German for The Dead City) opera was written in Germany in 1920. The opera has three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The opera was based on the novel Bruges-la-morte by Georges Rodenbach and is a love story. The wife of the main character dies and he mourns her until he falls in love with a dancer and has to choose to love her or not.

The opera’s theme of overcoming the loss of a loved one was well liked by audiences in 1920s who has just come through the trauma and grief of World War I. It was one of the greatest hits of the 1920s and the opera circled the globe including performances at Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Later, it was banned by the Nazi régime because of Korngold's Jewish ancestry, and after World War II it fell into obscurity. In 1967 the play was revived and was performed at the Vienna Volksoper and the New York City Opera in 1975.