Commission to Sarah Nemtsov

In the utopian “Unique State” established by the surviving humans after a global catastrophe, happiness and harmony prevail. Everyone has a serial number, a uniform and a glass apartment. The talented engineer D-503 considers such a life to be ideal, but after meeting the mysterious and beautiful I-330, who awakens uncontrollable, ancient urges and passions in him, D-503 discovers something terrible: there are people who want to destroy the last bastion of humanity.

The dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Samyatin was written in 1920 and immediately banned in the USSR as “seditious” and “anti-ideological”. The book was first published in 1924, initially only in English, and inspired writers such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell to reflect on the nature of dictatorships and their bleak future. In her opera written specially for Dortmund, Sarah Nemtsov creates a critical reflection on Samjatin’s theme of a sterile “Brave New World” in which the most natural human feelings – such as empathy, friendship or love – must assert their claim to existence.

The commission and world premiere of Sarah Nemtsov’s WE (WE) is supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
theaterdo.de

Dates

May 14, 2026 (premiere)
May 24, 2026
June 3, 2026
June 5, 2026
June 7, 2026

Theater Dortmund