Die Tote Stadt

This stunning work of art  by Valentino Monticello, Die Tote Stadt, is produced, in accordance with the artist’s customary technique. He was cutting and shaping only the labels taken from bottles of fine wine in order to create the collage. All the wines used here emanate from Belgium, so as to add to the atmosphere of the scene.

Die Tote Stadt is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and the libretto is by Paul Schott. It is based on Bruges-la-Morte, a short novel by Georges Rodenbach. When the opera premiered in 1920, Korngold was just 23 years old and had already achieved success with his works Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta. His popularity was so great that Die Tote Stadt was subject to fierce competition amongst German theatres for the right to host its world premiere. Finally, a double premiere was arranged and the opera opened simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne.

Die Tote Stadt was a huge hit in the 1920s. Its theme of overcoming the loss of a loved one resonated with contemporary audiences, who had just come through the trauma and grief of World War I. Within several years, it had toured the globe and became a worldwide success. However, during the Nazi regime, it was banned because of Korngold’s Jewish ancestry, making the opera fall into obscurity after World War II. More recently, Die Tote Stadt has enjoyed notable revivals in Bonn, London, San Francisco Opera and Vienna. Die Tote Stadt is set in Bruges, where the recently bereaved Paul broods endlessly on a portrait of his dead love Marie. All that excites him is an encounter with Marietta, a dancer who resembles Marie so uncannily that he begins to think that she is her reincarnation. Dream and reality mingle as Paul travels through his past.

The print is hand numbered and accompanied by a certificate signed by the Master Printer and bearing a matching number to the print.