The Bassarids

Young Pentheus has ascended to the throne of Thebes, but a stranger begins to undermine his authority. In honour of the god Dionysus, he leads the people to intoxicating revelries devoted to pleasure and lust. Hans Werner Henze’s musical drama in one act is a blood-soaked tragedy about political demagoguery and the seduction of the masses. In Barry Kosky’s production, the orchestra becomes the battle scene for the antagonistic principles, breaking the physical boundaries of the orchestra pit and pressing onto the stage, where it becomes both witness and accomplice in the unfolding events.