THE DECISION Brecht/Eisler – Birmingham Opera Company

Four agitators are dispatched from Soviet Russia to foster revolution in pre-communist China. En route they meet a young sympathiser who offers to be their guide, but when they return to Moscow, they confess to his killing. When is it right to kill? Birmingham Opera Company presents The Decision, a visceral, rarely performed work by writer Bertolt Brecht and composer Hanns Eisler. Here artistic, moral and social challenges come hand in hand. Living through a period of intolerance and censorship in the 1920s and 30s, Brecht and Eisler were both banned by the Nazis. Later, in their new adopted home on the other side of the Atlantic, the pair were investigated by the House Committee of Un-American Activities. Now in the 2020s, Brecht’s ‘learning play’ The Decision still has the potency to provoke. Birmingham’s production is described by The Stage as ‘impressive, immersive’ and by The Spectator ‘as an encounter with a genuinely evil work of art.’ Streamed on OperaVision on 14 April 2023 at 19:00 CET and available until 14 October 2023: CAST The Agitators Aimee Berwick Paksie Vernon Therese Collins Wendy Dawn Thompson The Party Birmingham Opera Company Chorus & Actors Birmingham Opera Company Orchestra Visiting Delegates (aka. The Public as themselves) Text and Lyrics Bertolt Brecht Music Hanns Eisler Translation John Willett Director Anthony Almeida Conductor Alpesh Chauhan Designer Claudia Fragoso Chorus Directors Mariana Rosas Themba Mvula By arrangement with Universal Edition as agent for Hanns Eisler and Alan Brodie Representation as agent for The Estate of Bertolt Brecht. OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision. WEBSITE: FACEBOOK: TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: TIKTOK: @operavision