OPERA BY ELENA LANGER

State Theatres of Saxony

22 & 24.01.2026 | 19:30 | Henny-Brenner-Saal

Libretto by Glyn Maxwell
Translation by Kai Anne Schuhmacher
German premiere

"The Lion's Face" tells the moving story of an Alzheimer's patient and his environment - an opera about memory, loss and humanity, created in close collaboration with medicine, care and research.

Like many people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, Mr. D. lives in a care facility at the end of his life, which is marked by children's voices in his head. Apart from the fact that his memories constantly revolve around a gift that he was unable to give away, we don't learn much about his life from him, as he can only make himself understood to a limited extent and no longer recognizes his wife, the doctor or his own reflection in the mirror.

Instead, we learn more about the problem-ridden people who surround Mr. D., his helpless wife who can't get through to him, the ambitious doctor who has lost his own mother to Alzheimer's disease, the overwhelmed nurse who idolizes the doctor and her rather lonely daughter who sneaks into the care facility to be closer than usual to her mother among the patients

And it is this neglected daughter, this young girl of all people, who manages to build up an empathetic relationship with the old Mr. D., which ultimately allows him to successfully dream his unfulfilled dream of a present to the end.

The opera by the British composer with Russian roots was premiered at the Brighton Festival in 2010. In keeping with the subject matter, her emotional music reflects the inner turmoil of all the characters involved. On the other hand, however, the composition fascinates with the many small moments of happiness that people give each other despite the seeming hopelessness of life and illness.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Jan Arvid Pree

DESIGN: Kai Anne Schuhmacher

STAGE & COSTUME: Linda Tiebel

ELBLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA SAXONY

Tickets are available here: Online-Ticketshop of the Landesbühnen Sachsen