A musical highlight for Dresden-Prohlis: The premiere of the neighborhood opera “Plattenspieler:innen” sparked jubilation in the prefab housing district in the southeastern part of the state capital. At the end, the approximately 300 performers—mostly children and teenagers—received loud applause and standing ovations. The gymnasium of the 128th High School had been converted into a stage for the production. Despite tropical temperatures both outside and inside, the musicians, dancers, and actors kept their cool and put on a great show for the audience, which broke into spontaneous applause time and again.
A famous Prohlis native plays an important role in the opera
This was palpable in every scene of the neighborhood opera. It was no coincidence that the subject matter had a cosmic dimension. For the farmer and amateur astronomer Johann Georg Palitzsch, who was born in 1723 in what was then the village of Prohlis, later gained fame when, on December 25, 1758, he was the first to observe the return of Halley’s Comet—whose return had been predicted by Edmond Halley (1656–1742) had predicted. The comet last appeared near Earth in 1986; it is expected to return in 2061—the same year the Prohlis opera begins.
“Intergalactic News” comes from the Prohlis studio
Halley’s Comet is approaching Earth once again and becomes the dominant topic of “Intergalactic News,” which, of course, is based in Prohlis. The comet loses a piece of itself—a singing stone (soprano Menna Cazel). The stone lands in Prohlis and then witnesses, in fast-forward, how a prehistoric settlement transforms into a vibrant city. The opera combines music from various centuries. Right at the beginning, the opening of Richard Strauss’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” can be heard. The “Musaik” orchestra is performing at full strength with about 120 members.
