"The crack" takes place in a real space, as intended by the libretto, namely in a bunker that was built in the middle of the Second World War between 1941 and 1944 for guests passing through under the main train station. At the scene of a real event.


PLOT

The people fled to a bunker. They've been living there for a long time, they laugh, they argue, they eat, they dance, they drink, and when the plane squadrons are approaching outside and the bombs are falling, they're overcome by fear. There is war outside. While people die on the streets, those underground try to maintain a sense of normalcy. But hysteria is in the air, the harmony between people is fragile, small disputes escalate. They all live lives on demand.

In a Music for a Bunker to a libretto by Micaela von Marcard, I process my own experiences from my childhood and youth in my Serbian homeland. A counterpoint between times, sounds, worlds and cultures reflects my music for the "Riss". Speech singing is combined with virtuoso coloraturas but also with pop-like singing, based on folk music elements as raw material - truthful and grotesque at the same time.

The production by director Vendula Nováková uses the conditions of the underground bunker at the main station. The animation by David Schulz opens up a new level. It descends underground, into its spooky hallways, into the windowless dormitories with their bunk cots, the food counter, the washrooms and drab waiting-room-like lounges.

The viewers follow the protagonists on their everyday stations into the chaos, become part of the action and yet observe it from a distance.