Music Theatre since 1990 - Schott Music

Synopsis
The Caribbean island of Santa Maria is the target of an unscrupulous arms dealer, who manages
to sell a shipment of weapons to the pacifist president. He then stirs up the neighboring nation,
which prepares to invade in order to defend itself. To make sure the war goes forward, the
arms dealer organizes a coup in Santa Maria. Meanwhile, the rush to war is resisted by Juan, a
humble peasant, whose cow, his sole source of income, is confiscated so the government can
pay for the war effort. Sentenced to death, he is saved by the fact that none of the purchased
weapons actually works. This discovery effectively halts the threat of war, Juan gets his cow
back, and all ends happily, as the bad guys flee the island.
Der Kuhhandel
13.08.2004 Bregenzer Festspiele
The great advantage of this piece lies in the fact that it revives the tradition of operetta, which has
been buried for decades, and that it shows current issues (issues which are even more current than
the Third Reich) in a friendly and comical way. (Kurt Weill)
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