Commission to Bernd Franke

Paris in 1899: death is at the beginning of the story. A young woman throws herself into the icy waters of the Seine. She is and remains unknown. An employee of the Paris mortuary is fascinated by her mysterious beauty and makes a death mask. The face of the “Inconnue” fascinates the people of Paris. The mask and drawings of it are copied thousands of times and become a mass phenomenon.

Norway in 1960: toy maker Asmund Laerdal has to cope with the death of his son. He drowned in the lake and all rescue efforts came too late. Laerdal decides to develop an aid for practising mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He gives the doll the face of the “Inconnue”.

Canada, today: a young journalist fights a terrible disease that is like drowning her lungs and risks everything for one last chance to survive.

Bernd Franke is composing a new piece of music theatre for Oper Leipzig entitled Coming up for air, based on the novel of the same name by British author Sarah Leipciger. The commission was conceived during the coronavirus pandemic. Thoughts about illness, masks and, above all, breathing were omnipresent. However, the new opera is intended to have a general validity beyond the period of the pandemic. The story of Coming up for air is timeless and essentially deals with the universal question of life and death. And yet it opens up spaces to reflect on concrete references to the present day. What do breath, breathing and breathlessness mean for a person, especially in times of post-Covid and long-Covid? What changes in meaning has the mask undergone in recent years? What role does dying and death still play in today’s world?

The commission to Bernd Franke for the Leipzig Opera is supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
oper-leipzig.de

Dates

March 28, 2026 (world premiere)
Oper Leipzig

(further dates to follow)