World premiere 13.3.27, Thalia Theater
When Caspar David Friedrich painted *The Monk by the Sea*, he created a work that continues to resonate to this day. At the same time, Goethe was creating his life-hungry *Werther*, a young man despairing of this world. Both ask the same question: Is there a way to live—in this overwhelmingly beautiful yet painful world? Houbrechts, part of the artistic direction of the Toneelhuis in Antwerp, intertwines painting, music, and opera singing to create a space in which Romanticism does not appear nostalgic, but becomes a contemporary question: Can art heal—or does it seduce us precisely where it grows dark?