CALIBAN

Caliban — Operafront

Caliban is a chamber opera by the adventurous composer Moritz Eggert, based on the character of the same name from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. A fairytale about power that raises questions about the monsters of our time

In a society ruled by success, beauty, talent and fame, there is little scope for the underdog; for someone who has never made it and probably never will. Caliban is the ultimate anti-hero. After being abandoned in the forest as a child, he leads a life of slavery. He has a huge inferiority complex, is not very smart and fails in his attempt to free himself. The sensitive monster Caliban has many different sides to him. He is both victim and perpetrator. He craves power, yet is a lonely child in search of love. He fights against the oppression of slavery, is tortured and then freed. He finds his God, plots his revenge and is captured and humiliated once again. In short, he is the very essence of opera material.