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A New Production of Bohuslav Martinů's Alexandre bis Opens at Theater an der Wien

May. 28, 2026

Bohuslav Martinů originally conceived of an unusual idea for Alexandre bis ("Alexander Twice"), composed for the World Exhibition in 1937: a singing cat or even a plant was supposed to put in an appearance. But ultimately he and his librettist decided on an equally scurrilous element – a speaking portrait. On June 2, Theater an der Wien presents this cheerful one-act opera in a new production by Anna Bernreitner, conducted by Irene Delgado-Jiménez using Bärenreiter's new urtext edition by Jitka Zichová. The trenchant, parodistic libretto captivates with its wealth of puns and gleeful exaggerations. At the centre of the plot is Alexandre, who, in the hope of bringing new zest to his marriage and at the same time testing his wife’s fidelity, stages a sophisticated masquerade: he approaches her anew in the guise of a supposed cousin. What follows is an amusing game about fidelity and seduction. Read more about the work in [t]aktehere.


Martinů's Alexandre bis is paired with Mieczysław Weinberg's Lady Magnesia in a double-bill at Theater an der Wien next month

To learn more about Bohuslav Martinů, visit baerenreiter.com.

Bohuslav Martinů
Alexandre bis (Alexander Twice)
Opera buffa in one act H 255
Libretto: André Wurmser (Fr.). Edited by Jitka Zichová.
The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition I/1/8.

Cast: Armande (soprano), Alexandre, her husband (baritone),
Oscar, Alexandre’s cousin (tenor),
the Portrait/the Narrator (bass, spoken part),
Philomène (soprano, spoken part)

Orchestra: 1(pic).1.1.1-1.1.1.0-pno-str

Duration: 40'

Publisher: Bärenreiter, BA10586-01, full score available on sale,
performance score and performance material available on hire,
composer’s vocal score with singing German translation by Kurt Honolka

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