Season 2020-21

INKOGNITO ROYAL

Act 1

Scene 1 – May 14th 1912, 23:00
A sinister doctor is about to examine an
unidentified body. A hotel director stops
him, recognizing the corpse as the King of
Denmark, who went missing hours before.
They begin to quarrel over ownership of
the body. Two policemen attempt in vain to
resolve the situation.

Scene 2
A diabolical Master of Ceremonies appears
and sings the ballad of poor King Frederik
VIII.

Scene 3 – May 14th 1912, 04:00
Courtiers wait nervously for the missing
king. The Queen is inconsolable. Finally, the
Hotelier arrives from the Hafenkrankenhaus
and delivers a sad message.

Scene 4 – May 15th 1912, 09:00
Journalists prepare to dispatch the breaking
news around the world, and the Master of
Ceremonies reveals their dirty secrets.

Scene 5 – May 14th 1912, 19:15
The King and Queen argue. Frederik longs
for love, but Lovisa is cold; she grieves her
destiny as Frederik’s wife.

Scene 6 – May 15th 1912, 11:00
Rumours continue to swirl around the
circumstances of the King’s death. Had he
visited a bordello? The two boisterous policemen hold a press conference.

Scene 7 – May 14th 1912, 19:00
Prostitutes await customers in a seedy
brothel. An old man sings a chanson about
his longings. Madame Rosa attempts to
maintain discipline and instructs the girls in
sexual techniques. A new customer suddenly
appears (King Frederik, under incognito).
The prostitutes perform their routines, and
Frederik chooses the shyest one: Fanny.

Scene 8
The Master of Ceremonies sings the Song
of the Royal Worms. He begins to doubt
whether Frederik is a fitting subject for an
operetta after all.

Scene 9
All the participants appear on stage and
demand more arias. Frederik inspects the
cast of his operetta and wishes he were
somewhere else.

Act 2

Scene 1 – May 15th 1912, 18:00
The two policemen, roaring drunk, are bitter
about having been ridiculed. A fight starts.

Scene 2
In a surreal scene, the Queen attempts to
sing a famous aria. The Master of Ceremonies
appears as a kind of circus master and
instigates a wild ”gallop”.

Scene 3 – May 14th 1912, 19:45
Fanny and Frederik have retired to her
room, but the King only wants to talk. They
sense a kind of recognition in each other’s
loneliness. The King suffers a heart attack.
Madame Rosa decides to dispose of the
body for fear of the police.

Scene 4 and 5 – May 15th 1912, 19:00
The police force some journalists to keep
silent, while others interview Madame Rosa,
who claims to know the real truth. “Fake
news” is created.

Scene 6 and 7
The participants start the play over again
from the top, hoping to improve it, but
soon begin arguing about subtext and
other matters. The Queen reveals that the
man everybody believes to be King Frederik
is not her husband, but a baritone from
Germany.

Everyone is stunned – because
they urgently need a finale!

AIDA

In the war between Egypt and Ethiopia, Aida is held captive as a slave of the Egyptian princess Amneris. No one knows, however, that she is actually the daughter of the Ethiopian king, Amonasro. Aida has fallen in love with Radamès, who returns her affection, to the great chagrin of Amneris, who wants Radamès for herself. Radamès is made commander of the Egyptian army, putting Aida in a terrible position: a victory for Radamès could mean marriage and freedom for her, but defeat for her father and homeland. When Radamès returns victorious, he is unaware he has captured Aida’s father. Amonasro forces Aida to coax Radamès into revealing military secrets, for which he is sentenced to death for high treason. Amneris offers to lift the sentence if Radames forswears Aida and agrees to marry her instead. He refuses, and is condemned to be buried alive. Aida secretly joins him in the tomb, and they face death together.

THE COUNT OF LUXEMBOURG

Famous opera singer Angèle would not be eligible to marry Prince Basilowitsch, as she is devoid of a title. To solve this problem, the Prince arranges for the impoverished Count René to marry a lady (Angèle) whose face he is not allowed to see - and to agree to a divorce in three months’ time. As a reward, the Count will get half a million francs. At the wedding ceremony, the two are separated by a canvas and exchange rings without seeing each other. Months later, Angèle meets the Count by chance. They are immediately attracted to each other. Prince Basilowitsch realizes their mutual interest and becomes nervous, especially as his former fiancée Kokozow is on her way. But it is too late: Kokozow arrives, claims her right to marriage, and the Prince must give in. Angèle and the Count confess their love - and are able to stay married…