When does the performance take place?

The performance takes place on November 9, 2026, at 6:00 PM.

Where will Before it Gets Completely Dark be performed?

The performance will take place at the Theater Koblenz in rehearsal room 4.

How long does the performance last?

The running time is about 90 minutes without an intermission.

What age is the chamber opera suitable for?

The Theater Koblenz recommends the performance for ages 16 and up.

Who composed the chamber opera?

The music is by Jake Heggie, with the libretto by Gene Scheer based on Mac’s Journey by Howard Reich.

Are there any special notes about the performance?

A strobe light will be used approximately 45 minutes after the start of the performance.

Before it Gets Completely Dark: Chamber Opera between Memory, Guilt, and Hope

Name: Before it Gets Completely Dark
Start: 2026-11-09T18:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-09T19:30:00+01:00
Location: Probebühne 4

Before it Gets Completely Dark: A Chamber Opera about Memory and Identity

When past and present collide, a gripping stage experience begins at the Theater Koblenz. Jake Heggie's chamber opera Before it Gets Completely Dark tells the story of Gerald Mac McDonald, a Vietnam War veteran whose life takes a radical turn due to an unexpected inheritance.

A Journey into One's Own Family History

Mac discovers that he is the sole heir of a Jewish art collector. What initially seems distant and incomprehensible leads him to Prague – to paintings that were condemned as degenerate art by the National Socialists, and to a family history closely linked to the Holocaust. The dramaturgy connects personal identity, historical responsibility, and the question of how memory continues to influence the present.

Chamber Opera between Music Theatre and Culture of Remembrance

Heggie's music unfolds a colorful, concentrated sound space. Under the musical direction of Karsten Huschke, the Meander Quartet and chamber orchestra encounter a production that combines musical precision with documentary and scenic forms. Supplementary texts by John von Düffel, testimonies from contemporary witnesses, as well as passages developed with young people expand the opera into a multi-voiced stage art.

A Production with Compelling Imagery

Heiko Hentschel is responsible for the direction and set design. The staging frames the opera with a prologue and epilogue, creating a collage of music, acting, historical traces, and contemporary references. Haruna Yamazaki, Andrew Finden, and David Prosenc navigate through a web of vulnerability, guilt, loss, and hope. The stage design, lighting atmosphere, and acoustics intensify the theatrical atmosphere into a space where the invisible becomes tangible.

Between Darkness and Hope

The performance focuses on social exclusion, experiences of war, and the dangers of suppressed history. At the same time, the production preserves a human core: memory does not remain in the museum, but meets the people of the present. The result is a concentrated music theatre experience for an audience aged 16 and above.

Conclusion: An Evening that Resonates

Before it Gets Completely Dark combines contemporary chamber opera, acting, and culture of remembrance into a moving theater evening. Those who want to experience music theatre with historical depth, precise dramaturgy, and emotional pull will find in this performance a substance that resonates long after the final chord.