The Soldier’s Tale

Written for a traveling theater, Igor Stravinsky’s music-theater piece premiered in Lausanne in September 1918 — just six weeks before the end of the First World War. In the form of a fable, The Soldier’s Tale tells of the uprooting of an entire generation. Through an enticing yet perilous bargain with the devil, a simple soldier gains wealth and status — but at what price?

Erich Sidler’s staging of Stravinsky’s groundbreaking music theater work is paired with one of the most powerful cantatas of the 17th century: Wie liegt die Stadt so wüste (How Desolate Lies the City). Written in 1663 by Hamburg organist Matthias Weckmann in response to a devastating plague, it paints a vivid portrait of human despair in the face of senseless destruction. Folkert Uhde expands Weckmann’s vision with striking visual projections that heighten the music’s expressive force and emotional depth.