Opera Voice Killer - premiere in the music theater at Vienna!

Opera Voice Killer - premiere in the music theater at Vienna!

Theater an der Wien, Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Wien, Österreich - On June 13, 2025, the opera "Voice Killer" celebrates its premiere in the music theater at Vienna. The work was created by the composer Miroslav Srnka and the librettist Tom Holloway and is based on a true murder case that took place at an American base in Australia during World War II. The tragic fates are treated by three young women who have been targeted by the mentally ill perpetrator due to his obsession with female voices. The opera symbolically returns their voices to these victims and thus addresses both the injustice that has happened to them and the psychological abyss of the perpetrator.

The staging directed by Cordula Däuder promises to become an urgent experience. The main role is taken over by Seth Carico, supported by the singers Caroline Wettergreen, Holly Flack and Nadja Stefanoff. Finnegan Downey Dear is responsible for the musical direction. The performance will take place in English with German and English overtitles to ensure broader comprehensibility.

structure and topics of the opera

The action is not designed as a classic crime and largely does not focus on putting the historical environment of the Second World War. Instead, the perpetrator's perspective is taken, but the acts of which are not justified. "Voice Killer" follows the soldier's schizophrenic stream of consciousness, who is looking for his mother and, in desperation, unfolds an escalative spiral of violence and murder, which finally leads to the arrest and the associated court hearing.

In the opera, the relationship between the perpetrator and victims is also discussed. The women who are attracted by the murderer due to their voices transform into representatives of their own stories before the eyes of the audience. A complex narrative is thus designed that illuminates both the psychological abysses of the criminal and the dignity of the victims.

further performance dates and ticket information

After the premiere on June 13th, there are further performance dates: 16th, 18th, 20th and 23rd June 2025, each at 7:00 p.m. A work launch takes place 30 minutes before the start of the performance to prepare the audience for the topic and musical elements of the opera. Tickets are available at the daycare centers of the United Bühnen Vienna as well as online and in other ticket agencies.

The opera "Voice Killer" is an order work of the music theater at Vienna and thus represents an important contribution to contemporary opera culture. The historical context of the Second World War also refers to the complex relationships between art and society, which were both suppressed and redefined in this era. These stories remain relevant today, which makes the performance even more urgent.

For press photos and further information, the press area of ​​the Vienna Holding is available.