In the surrealist opera Les mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tiresias) by gay French composer Francis Poulenc, Thérèse — living in the fictional “Zanzibar” somewhere near Monte Carlo — rebels against society’s obsession with reproduction (“Ô Français, faites des enfants!”). She breaks away and calls for revolution. In this land of unlimited possibilities, Thérèse can transform herself: she sheds her outward female attributes, letting her breasts float away into the audience as little balloons, and puts on men’s clothing. She also grows a beard and changes her name. From now on, she calls herself Tirésias. At her request, her husband transforms as well — into a woman.

Marlene Schleicher reimagines this French masterpiece, performed in French with German surtitles. She relocates the action to Hermannplatz, where, in this version, we encounter pixelated penguins in videos by Kasia Suchecka. The musical direction is by Yueyue Gu.

This is the bachelor’s graduation production of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.

More information here.