Das Schloß

Aribert Reimann’s opera, based on Franz Kafka’s novel ‘Das Schloß,’ depicts K.’s various attempts to reach the castle for which he has been appointed surveyor. The action surrounds the ultimately inaccessible castle like a moat surrounding high walls. Although K.’s attempts to reach the castle become successively more hopeless and K.’s initial optimism is lost, every attempt renewed hope with the possibility of success. It’s precisely this perpetual desire, however, which alienates K. from a society in which the individuals have already succeeded in finding themselves. At the heart of Reimann’s interpretation is diffusion, the permeation through which all actions are depicted in an alienated hue. Reimann viewed recapturing Kafka’s enigmatic character, which had become lost in dramatised versions, and recreating it in a new medium as his underlying compositional aim.

"The sensitively conceived score, as intimate as chamber music, is […] precisely tailored to each relevant section of K.’s hopeless journey. Figures such as the landlady, office secretary or messenger all have the function of impeding and confusing K. Each scene has its own individual tonal language, mode of expression and distinctive instrumentation." (Frank Kämpfer, NZ 11, 1992)