Hans Thomalla: Dark Fall (Opera In Thirteen Scenes)

Dark Fall is an opera about love and longing in old age. The subject of the story is a married woman, Ellen, who is showing the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite these symptoms, or perhaps because of them, she falls in love with Owen, an old friend who visits Ellen and her husband. Dark Fall questions ideas of love and partnership in old age: When are we too ill or too old to be allowed to fall in love again? To start a new life with a new partner and be able to leave someone else? When are we too limited in our autonomy to freely decide our lives? Together with Dark Spring (UA Mannheim 2020) Dark Fall is conceived as the second part of a theatrical Diptych of Desire. The pieces can be performed either separately or together as a double feature.