Der goldene Drache

While Thai soup no. 6 is being consumed in The Golden Dragon Thai-Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant, dramas are being played out in the kitchen at the back. A Chinese with no residence permit but with toothache, his missing sister, two exhausted stewardesses, a frustrated old man from the second floor and the miserly ant who forces the cricket into prostitution: in his chamber opera Der goldene Drache (The Golden Dragon), that premiered in 2014, Peter Eötvös presents a potpourri of global milieus. The opera’s narrative trick: two female singers and three male singers play all 17 roles following the example of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play that premiered at the Akademietheater in 2009. Men play women, Asians play Europeans, older people play youngsters and vice versa. The Hungarian composer scored great successes in Vienna with operas Die Drei Schwestern (Three Sisters) and Angels in America, and is one of the most frequently performed contemporary opera composers.