American premiere on 18 January 2014, at Houston Grand Opera. The opera has also been produced at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Oper Frankfurt (Germany), both in early 2015. It was produced by Florida Grand Opera in 2016, by The Israeli Opera in 2019, and in 2020 by Madrid's Teatro Real. Roles Instrumentation Orchestra: 3 flutes (the third flute doubles a piccolo) 3 oboes (the third oboe doubles an English horn) 3 Clarinets (The second doubles a piccolo clarinet, the third doubles a bass clarinet) Alto saxophone 3 bassoons (The third bassoon doubles a contrabassoon) 6 horns, baritone horn 4 trumpets 3 trombones tuba Timpani, triangle, tambourine, small side drum, military drum, tenor drum, whip, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, tubular bells, glockenspiel Celesta Piano Harp Guitar String section Banda: Accordion Guitar Piano Jazz percussion Solo double bass Synopsis The opera is set on two levels: the upper level depicts the deck of an ocean liner after the Second World War where a German couple, Lisa and Walter (a West German diplomat on his way with his new wife to a new diplomatic posting), are sailing to Brazil. The wife, Lisa, thinks she recognises a Polish woman on board, Marta, as a former inmate of Auschwitz concentration camp where she, unknown to her husband, was a camp guard. The second lower level develops below the liner deck, depicting the concentration camp. The opera is an interplay between the two levels. Act 1 Scene 1 : Walter and his wife Lisa are on their way to a new life in Brazil where Walter will take up a diplomatic post. During the journey, Lisa is struck by the appearance of a passenger she sees indistinctly. The passenger reminds her of an inmate in Auschwitz who was under her orders and who she knows for certain is dead. In shock, she reveals her hitherto undisclosed wartime past to her husband. Scene 2 : In the concentration camp, Lisa and her superior overseer discuss the need to manipulate prisoners and find one amongst each group who can be manipulated to lead the others easily. The male officers drink and sing about how there is nothing to do but how they are less likely to die than fighting on the front against the Russians. Scene 3 : The women of the camp are introduced and each tells of their background