Three fugitives stumble across the perfect location for their hedonistic dream of a city, without oppressive laws but with lots of sex, whisky and a libertine lust for life

The city of Mahagonny attracts hordes of adventurous loggers, prostitutes and shady fortune seekers drawn by the prospect of a life far from the shackles of civilisation. Everything must be perfectly natural, and naturally it all goes very, very wrong.

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is an expressive political opera satire that oozes 1930s decadence. Brecht penned the libretto in 1927, and composer Kurt Weill humbly set out to bestow upon the genre a fundamentally new and more popular aria form. And in this he fully succeeded – the opera’s ode to alcohol, the “Alabama Song”, has since been lifted to immortal heights by rock icons including the Doors and David Bowie, and played in pubs worldwide.

Director Graham Vick is sought after from London to Moscow, from Glyndebourne to Berlin, from Saint Petersburg to Madrid. He always surprises and challenges audiences with his original direction of both familiar classics and newly composed works.

Performed in English with Danish supertitles.