Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt

In the organizer's words:

• Chamber opera by Missy Mazzoli (music & lyrics) & Royce Vavrek (lyrics)
• inspired by the travel diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt
• in English with German surtitles

"Tears of sadness, tears of joy
... there are a hundred names for God."

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877 - 1904) was one of the most unique and unusual women of her time. After the death of her parents and brother, she gave up her life in Switzerland at the age of twenty to travel through the deserts of North Africa as a "nomad". She usually traveled on horseback, often in men's clothing, and documented her journeys in detail in diaries, which she published under a pseudonym during her lifetime. She died in a flood at the age of 27. Her body was found together with her only legacy: the sketches for a new novel ...

In 2004, the American composer Missy Mazzoli became aware of Isabelle Eberhardt and within a very short time read all the writings from her estate, which she began to shape into a libretto three years later, giving the texts a personal touch and then setting them to music. After the chamber opera premiered to great acclaim in New York in 2012, it is now receiving its German premiere at Theater Vorpommern.

"For those who know the value and exquisite taste of solitary freedom (for one is only free when one is alone), the act of leaving is the bravest and most beautiful of all. ... As we drink coffee, I listen to the night settling over the desert. More and more voices enliven the quiet night. The nomads improvise songs over songs. How pleasant it is to fall asleep like this, somewhere in the open air, knowing full well that you will set off the next day and certainly never return ..." from Isabelle Eberhardt's "Tagwerken" ("Mes journaliers")