Dead End online

Composed by Krzysztof Meyer to a libretto by Antoni Libera, the work combines the theatre of the absurd with the operatic convention. The creators drew on the work of Sławomir Mrożek and Samuel Beckett, whose work Antoni Libera has translated into Polish. The events unfold at a small railway station in a fictional principality in the heart of Europe, at the intersection of the continent's main transportation routes. Somewhat suspended in time and space, the passengers engage in heated discussions that reveal opposing worldviews and social attitudes. The conversations make up a palimpsest of contradictions, tensions, and surprising alliances. The libretto's dark humour, irony, and grotesque, situational comedy are reflected in the score, which gradually shifts from buffo to serio tones.

Dead End is a witty, yet unsettling metaphor for contemporary Europe and Western civilisation as a whole. It explores topics rarely represented on opera stages and asks questions about the state of our society and the future of the world as we know it.