Science Fiction from the Past

In 1910, two men decide to race each other to the end of the world. One of them reaches his goal, a mere speck in the middle of an empty ice-covered desert and returns safe and sound. The other man and his team freeze to death — and although he came second, was considered the real winner. In their opera South Pole, composer Miroslav Srnka and librettist Tom Holloway explore the myth of Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen. They are interested not only in the physical aspects of their staggering feats, but also the symbolic power of their need to explore, their ambition and arrogance. Director Uli Aumüller follows this ambitious stage production performed by the Bavarian State Opera, featuring Franco-Mexican singer Roland Villazon.