Theo Verbey arranged two of the Letzte Lieder by Strauss for this production for countertenor and orchestra.

With the new musical theatre production Death in Venice, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra returns to the Royal Theatre Carré for the first time in a long time. This unique co-production with Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA, formerly known as Toneelgroep Amsterdam), is based on Thomas Mann’s classic novella and features newly composed music.

In Death in Venice, Thomas Mann tells the story of von Aschenbach – a celebrated German writer representing Mann’s alter ego – who meets an innocent adolescent, Tadzio. The writer’s intense, uncontrollable infatuation ultimately leads to his spiritual and physical destruction. In Ramsey Nasr’s reworking as a musical theatre piece, the characters are performed by actors, but also by orchestral musicians and a singer. Music plays a leading role in the drama.