The Kaiser of Atlantis

The Kaiser of Atlantis, directed by Sebastián Alfie, is a co-production between Argentina, Spain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Teatro Real and the Fundación Hispano Judía. It tells the story of the opera of the same name, which was written by Viktor Ullmann in the Terezin concentration camp. The opera, an almost comical criticism of dictatorships and the senseless destruction of war, was completed just a few weeks before Ullmann and librettist Peter Kein's death in Auschwitz. It was restored years later with the help of the then famous medium Rosemary Brown, who was often consulted by musicians such as Leonard Bernstein and Colin Davis. The film also follows the rehearsals for the opera as they were staged in Madrid under the direction of Gustavo Tambascio until the premiere.