Les Troyens

Cassandra and Dido, Trojan seer and Carthaginian queen, are at the center of the fascinating, monumental and polyphonic grand opéra by French composer Hector Berlioz, which can be experienced for the first time at Oper Graz. Tatjana Gürbaca, who began her career at Graz Opera and as a finalist for the Graz Ring Award, is one of the most renowned opera directors to take on the “French Ring”.

Shakespeare and Virgil inspired Berlioz’s work, which is immoderate in every respect.
Troy and Carthage, the two contrasting settings of his two-part grand opera, are linked by the author and composer through the figure of the Trojan refugee and future progenitor of the Romans, Aeneas.
In the first part, the seeress Cassandra foresees the downfall of Troy and warns in vain of the danger of the wooden horse.
When she sees the Greeks reduce Troy to rubble, she takes her own life. A small troop led by Aeneas manages to escape the attackers. Commissioned by the spirit of the hero Hector, Aeneas and his men set off for Italy to found eternal Rome.
In the second part, the refugees are stranded in Carthage and support Queen Dido in her battle against Iarbas, the king of the Gaetulians.
Berlioz creates a panorama of a prosperous, seemingly utopian state. But when Aeneas and Dido fall in love, disaster takes its course: Aeneas leaves Carthage to follow his mission. Dido, despairing, commits suicide. …