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Music Text

Lyrics by Martin G. Berger, Book by Dirk Laucke, conceived by Jens Luckwaldt (G)

Scoring

soloists; mixed chorus; children's choir; ballet;
1(=picc).1.3(II=bcl,II=asax).1-2.2.1.0-dr set.perc-gtr-kbd-strings(6.5.4.3.2)

Abbreviations (PDF)

Opera
For full details on this stagework, including synopsis and roles, please visit our Opera section.
Publisher

Bote & Bock

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
16/05/2026
Staatsoperette, Dresden
Matthias Reichwald, director / Staatsoperette Dresden / Michael Ellis Ingram
Repertoire Note

Is it everything just an illusion? The great Kalanag, alias Helmut Schreiber, is the darling of the international magic world. He knows how to wrap the audience around his agile fingers and juggle with the emotions of the audience as an entertainment artist. In the midst of the ruins of post-war Germany, he makes cars disappear in a mega show on stage, saws his partner Gloria to pieces and makes milk and honey flow in the ‘Miracle Bar’. But behind the curtain, the shadows of a dark past are lurking. Memories flash up of a betrayed Jewish friend in the film business; of the the political purge of the Magicians’ Association; of a gig on the Obersalzberg. Can Kalanag, the master of staging, succeed in his greatest trick: Will his guilt vanish into thin air?

Simsalabim - The Magical Life of Dr Schreiber is a new musical theatre, a mix of magic revue, political thriller and psychogram about a seductive and controversial figure in German history. Between great ballads, swing numbers and show fireworks, we are also confronted with the question of social responsibility on and beyond the stage: If everything were possible – what would you do?
Staatsoperette Dresden

Subjects
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