In a satirical exaggeration, The City Without Jews, written in 1924, seems like an apocalyptic vision of the persecution and extinction of Judaism.
Silent film by Hans Karl Breslauer (1924) based on the novel by Hugo Bettauer with music for amplified ensemble and tape by Olga Neuwirth (2017)
A production of Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Barbican Centre, Sinfonieorchester Basel & ZDF/ ARTE in cooperation with Wien Modern and Filmarchiv Austria
Premiere
28. May 2026
Dates & Cast
- Conductor Nacho de Paz
- Sprecher Jörg Schüttauf
- Instrumentalensemble Phace - Ensemble für neue Musik
- Conductor Nacho de Paz
Ensemble PHACE
- Sprecher Jörg Schüttauf
- Instrumentalensemble Phace - Ensemble für neue Musik
In brief
To celebrate the “Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony 2026”, the Semperoper is showing Hans Karl Breslauer’s 1924 silent movie Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews) for the first time, featuring live music by renowned composer Olga Neuwirth. The film is one of the most artistically and historically significant productions of the First Austrian Republic. It is based on the visionary novel of the same name, subtitled A Novel of the Day After Tomorrow, by the Jewish writer and journalist Hugo Bettauer (1872-1925), and deals with the expulsion of the Jewish population and the resulting loss for the city (here called “Utopia”).
Just a few years after its premiere, the original film reels went missing. Only a chance find at a Paris flea market in 2015 enabled the Filmarchiv Austria to restore the silent classic in its entirety. Almost 100 years later, the film’s subject matter is once again hugely relevant.
Olga Neuwirth (*1968) is one of the world’s leading contemporary composers. Her works have been performed by top orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics and the London Symphony Orchestra. She was the “Capell-Compositrice” of the Staatskapelle Dresden for its 2022/23 season. In autumn 2018, her music for the silent film Die Stadt ohne Juden was premiered at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, followed by further performances in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Paris, Graz and most recently at the Salzburg Festival in the summer of 2024.
