Viktor Ullmann, a German-speaking, Austro-Hungarian Jew like Mahler, wrote this satirical opera while imprisoned in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Ullmann was later killed in Auschwitz, but the manuscript was saved by the camp’s librarian who survived the war. The opera is a thinly veiled satire of Hitler in which Death is fed up with facilitating a government founded on perpetual war and murder and so goes on strike. But what happens to the living when there is no death?

Pre-concert display of opera-themed graphic novels at 6:30 PM
Opening night reception and discussion following the performance

ULLMANN | Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung (The Emperor of Atlantis or Death Goes on Strike)

Colorado MahlerFest Chamber Orchestra
Kenneth Woods, Conductor
Ryan Hugh Ross, Kaiser Überal
Andrew Konopak, Der Lautsprecher
Gustav Andreassen, Der Tod
Brennen Guillory, Harlekin/Ein Soldat
Alice Del Simone,  Bubikopf
Hannah Benson, Der Trommler

The program will include a talk by Dave Maass, journalist and author of “Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis”
Death Strikes: Behind the Panels
Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis is the critically acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of the opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, which was written by Czech poet Peter Kien and composer Viktor Ullmann in 1943, while they were imprisoned in the Nazi’s Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp and ghetto. The sci-fi/fantasy social satire imagines a world where Atlantis has become a brutal, technologically advanced dictatorship, leading Death himself to quit in protest of its emperor’s endless wars and leaving behind a world where everyone fights, but no one can die. In this talk, writer Dave Maass will take attendees on a tour through the hidden references and inspirations embedded in the book, including how designs were drawn from real places in the Czech Republic and Kien’s own illustrations. He will also discuss the challenges and unique opportunities that arise when adapting a musical medium to the illustrated page. Death Strikes was named one of New York Public Library’s Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2024 and served as the creative backdrop for the Louisville Orchestra 2025 concert staging of Der Kaiser von Atlantis, which Opera magazine described as “edgily creative, ineffably moving.”

Photo by Glenn Ross