Dementia becomes an opera theme in Bern
With "Alzheim", which will premiere in the 2017/18 season, Konzert Theater Bern is presenting the first musical theater work to deal with the topic of dementia in the realm between drama and opera.
The text and libretto of the work were written by the author and journalist Jürgen Berger. He met Martin Woodtli, who was born in Bern and founded a facility in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to care for dementia patients. Director Ludger Engels, known in Bern for his opera productions of "Macbeth", "Peter Grimes" and "Salome", had the idea of turning "Alzheim" into a play for drama and music.
Concert and Opera Director Xavier Zuber, developed the project further with Berger and Engels and was able to win over the Geneva composer Xavier Dayer for the musical part.
