Kaspar Hauser – Child of Europe

World Premiere

Rory Boyle   Composer

Dilys Rose    Librettist

Derek Clark Conductor

Frederic Wake-Walker Director

Anna Jones Designer

Mark Doubleday Lighting Designer

Saturday 20, Monday 22, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 March

7.15pm

New Athenaeum Theatre

“Here lies Kaspar Hauser, riddle of his time. His birth was unknown, his death mysterious.”

In 2006 Composer  Rory Boyle won a Creative Scotland Award to write an opera about the 19th century German foundling, Kaspar Hauser, with a libretto by the Edinburgh-based writer Dilys Rose.

Kaspar Hauser, also known as The Child of Europe, first appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, later claiming to have spent most of his childhood and early adolescence locked in a dungeon, fed on bread and water and constrained. He became a curiosity of the day, with people flocking to see him, and the subject of numerous books and essays. Various theories surrounded him – that he was a prince of the House of Baden, a feral child brought up by wolves, the son of a cavalryman, or, more simply, an imposter.

Hauser’s birth and death are shrouded in as much mystery as his short existence. Following one attempt on his life, he was stabbed to death at the age of 21; his origins were never discovered, nor was his killer.

This version of his story is seen from Hauser’s viewpoint; a strange and fascinating story, not only of child neglect but also of exploitation.

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