Lurking in the bowels of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is a long-forgotten realm from the dark ages. In this location, a.k.a the set and props depository, the ghosts of King Gunther, Siegfried and Brünhilde are up to no good, ever fighting over who gets to go on stage next. Nothing’s off-limits to Wagner’s offspring when it comes to winning over the audience! And so it goes: murder and mayhem, drama upon drama, day after day. High time for someone to bang some heads together — and do it with humour, too! Wait a sec: humour!? That’s really not something the German crew knows the first thing about. But then Berlin’s underground scene rides to the rescue: a clique of operetta singers will sort it out – but wait: are these hallowed portals really going to host a work of operetta? Whatever would Richard make of it?

AB IN DEN RING! is the Tischlerei’s latest collaboration with an independent company and tutti d*amore’s first premiere to be staged at an opera house. It is based on DIE LUSTIGEN NIBELUNGEN, a burlesque operetta by Oscar Straus and his lyricist Rideamus, first performed in Vienna in 1904. The source material is a witty satire aimed at their idol, Richard Wagner, a parody that, in the imperial era, dared to poke fun at themes such as heroism, patriotism and war fever. The operetta’s catchy couplets and jaunty waltzes and marches gave the Austrian composer his first major triumph.

Tutti d*amore has rewritten the text, extending and transposing Straus’s satirical look at Wilhelminian Germany into present day society. AB IN DEN RING! is a sharp dig at the culture wars raging in the theatre and opera community between supporters of conservatism and tradition on the one hand and woke progressives on the other. The theatrical sphere fuses with the mythological realm of the Nibelungs, triggering a to and fro over which attitudes should hold sway. A slapstick tussle where – as in a classic operetta - no single side comes out on top.

On tutti d*amore
The core mission of tutti d*amore, the Berlin collective for contemporary oper*etta, is to liberate operetta from its reputation as an outdated art form and attract young and diverse audiences to performances at urban venues. Its productions are staged at unconventional locations and in public spaces, with venues including Kater Blau and Sisyphos and appearances at the Fusion Festival and Garbicz Festival. tutti d*amore explores pressing issues of the day in light-hearted fashion. The company’s revival of Mischa Spoliansky’s folk play DAS HAUS DAZWISCHEN addressed the gentrification of small and medium-sized firms in Berlin. MAGNA MATER, based on Franz von Suppè’s DIE SCHÖNE GALATHÉE and Paul Lincke’s LYSISTRATA, tackles the themes of equal rights, roll models and abuse of power. They recently toured the countryside of Brandenburg, performing their operetta TUTTI IN CAMPAGNA in small venues and market squares, also landing an invitation to the DNT Weimar. And no, this is not a ‘90s pizza joint that’s put down roots in Germany. These people do operettas – as theatre for everyman.