W – uma ópera

The opera W tells the story of Benjamin’s flight from Nazism. Benjamin wanted to reach Lisbon to embark for the USA (like other famous German intellectuals, such as Hannah Arendt). Benjamin, however, never reached Lisbon. He died in Portbou on the French-Spanish border. The opera begins, in fact, with Walter Benjamin (tenor) synthesising his story as that of the man who will die in Portbou (like a tragic hero). He was so close to reaching Lisbon. So close to escaping persecution. Almost. The opera is about this “almost”. The crossing of the Pyrenees on foot required an enormous physical effort from Benjamin (who suffered from a heart condition). At the Spanish border, he learns that his name appears on a list that the Gestapo had provided to the Spanish police. His hopes of fleeing to America via Lisbon are at risk. On the night he arrives in Portbou, Benjamin dies at the Hotel de Francia (from causes that remain unclear).

The narrative is punctuated by the staged reading of fragments from Benjamin’s correspondence (with Gretel Adorno, Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, etc.), and the dialogues revolve around the vicissitudes of the journey/flight and expose fragments of discussions about his philosophy and the theories that made him important. The opera ends with the allegory of the Angel (of History) on stage: only with the touch of its wings can W.B. be mentioned, in this chosen image, in which danger shines because it touches us…