The Emperor of Atlantis / The Clever One

These two hilarious satires mocking oppression and dictatorship written in 1943 Germany under vastly different circumstances. Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis is a witty send-up of fascism where a mad ruler advocates war against all, and even causes Death to retire from his duties. In contrast, Carl Orff’s The Clever One is a cautionary fairy-tale about a foolish, tyrannical king bested by a clever woman.