The pattern on Grandmother’s blouse as she holds you in her arms. Seeing the sea for the first time. That one night in July that turned into morning. The child’s first steps, the father’s last. Memories are an essential part of what makes up a person’s identity. A disease such as Alzheimer’s threatens to erode this identity by taking away memories. But what can one cling to when the past seems to slip through one’s fingers like sand? And is a person suffering from dementia still granted the autonomy to make independent decisions?

Hans Thomalla’s opera, which premiered in 2024, centres on Ellen and her family – showing how Ellen clings to life, even falling in love again, whilst her husband and daughter face their own struggles as they attempt to accompany her on her journey into oblivion. Thomalla’s music delves deep into the inner lives of his protagonists with moving melodies that are repeatedly jagged by dissonance.

Jari Kunter, who made his directorial debut in the 25/26 season with the semi-staged production of *The Duchess of Gérolstein*, is now directing for the first time at the MiR’s Kleines Haus.

The pattern on Grandmother’s blouse as she holds you in her arms. Seeing the sea for the first time. That one night in July that turned into morning. The child’s first steps, the father’s last. Memories are an essential part of what makes up a person’s identity. A disease such as Alzheimer’s threatens to erode this identity by taking away memories. But what can one cling to when the past seems to slip through one’s fingers like sand? And is a person suffering from dementia still granted the autonomy to make independent decisions?

Hans Thomalla’s opera, which premiered in 2024, centres on Ellen and her family – showing how Ellen clings to life, even falling in love again, whilst her husband and daughter face their own struggles as they attempt to accompany her on her journey into oblivion. Thomalla’s music delves deep into the inner lives of his protagonists with moving melodies that are repeatedly jagged by dissonance.

Jari Kunter, who made his directorial debut in the 25/26 season with the semi-staged production of *The Duchess of Gérolstein*, is now directing for the first time at the MiR’s Kleines Haus.