Theatre of the World

This article is about the 2016 opera. For the 1570 atlas, see Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
Theatre of the World
A Grotesque Stagework in 9 Scenes
Opera by Louis Andriessen
Athanasius Kircher, the main character
LibrettistHelmut Krausser
LanguageMultiple Language
Based onLife of Athanasius Kircher
Premiere
6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)
Los Angeles

Theatre of the World is the fifth and last opera by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, with a libretto by Helmut Krausser. Subtitled A Grotesque Stagework in 9 Scenes,[1] the work concerns itself with the life of 17th-century Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher and was premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles 6 May 2016, a co-production between Los Angeles Philharmonic and Dutch National Opera, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. The title alludes to the Catholic idea that life is a great play with God as the author, a concept also found in Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" passage.

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