The Good Person of Szechwan

What is actually more exhausting - being a good person, or always playing the villain? And doesn’t every human being, at least at first, simply want to be good? But once again, the reality is: circumstances are not that simple. Shen Te has to learn this as well, because the more she tries to please everyone, the more her generosity is exploited to the extreme. And so she feels compelled to assume the role of her ruthless cousin Shui Ta, who brusquely turns away all supplicants. But can that really be the solution?

Bertolt Brecht explores this story in his parable The Good Person of Szechwan. Now Cong Su - Oscar-winning composer for Bernardo Bertolucci’s film The Last Emperor - has adapted Brecht’s play for the opera stage. For the production of this world premiere, Brecht specialist and former Linz drama director Stephan Suschke returns to the Landestheater.