‘I simply cannot stop enthusing about Weinberg’s The Passenger. I’ve heard it three times now, studied the score, and every time I understand more of the beauty and greatness of this music. It is a work of consummate form and style and its subject extremely relevant.’ – Dmitri Shostakovich

In 1960, Lisa – formerly a guard at Auschwitz and now the wife of a West German diplomat – is on an ocean liner bound to Brazil. She thinks she recognises in another passenger a woman named Martha, a Polish prisoner under her direct jurisdiction. Through a series of flashbacks across two acts, eight scenes and one epilogue, the audience witnesses the final reckoning between two women as they attempt to escape their pasts.

The Passenger premiered in 2010 at the Bregenz Festival. With this new production by Oper Graz composer Mieczysław Weinberg’s powerful Holocaust drama continues to gain international recognition.

‘Under [Roland Kluttig’s] his direction, the orchestra explored the multi-layered soundscapes of the work in a differentiated manner and captivated the audience with a wide range of colors and moods.’ – Bachtrack.com

Cast:
- Lisa: Dshamilja Kaiser
- Marta: Nadja Stefanoff
- Walter: Will Hartmann
- Tadeusz: Markus Butter
- Katja: Tetiana Miyus
- Krystina: Antonia Cosmina Stancu
- Vlasta: Anna Brull
- Hannah: Mareike Jankowski
- Yvette: Sieglinde Feldhofer
- Bronka: Joanna Motulewicz
- Old woman: Ju Suk
- 1st SS man: Ivan Oreščanin
- 2nd SS man: David McShane
- 3rd SS man: Martin Fournier
- An older passenger: Konstantin Sfiris
- Female supervisor: Uschi Plautz