Soloist Nadine Zeintl surrounded by the rats of the SMS Szent István in the opera Rattensturm (from the Roxie event page)
The title of Erling Wold’s latest opera is Rattensturm (rats storm). It was commissioned by the Klagenfurter Ensemble, based in Klagenfurt, the capital of Carinthia in Austria. With a libretto by Peter Wagner based on an idea by Gerhard Lehner about the sinking of the SMS Szent István, built to be the pride of the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s contribution to the fighting of World War I. However, as a result of a compounding of instances of ineptitude, the ship was brought down by an Italian torpedo boat during its maiden voyage in June of 1918.
The opera was given its premiere performance this past June 13 in Klagenfurt, scheduled to mark the 100th anniversary of the vessel’s sinking. There followed eight more performances through the end of the month. Those performances were filmed, and the results were edited to provide a full account of both the music and the staging.
That film will be screened in San Francisco next month. Sadly, it will be shown exactly once, at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 18. The duration of the film is 99 minutes. The venue will be the Little Roxie, located at 3117 16th Street in the Mission. All tickets will be sold for $13, and they may be purchased in advance through a Roxie event page.
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