Schiller’s ”Die Räuber” (1781) is dramatic, and carries a wise message through time: Freedom is good, but when the fight for freedom against injustice strikes and makes use of violence, tragedy overtakes. This is the story about the twisted and narcissistic straggler Franz who lures his father into disowning his hedonistic big brother Karl, who develops in the battle for freedom; this is the story about two men who fight for love and sacrifice it – making everyone come out as losers. Franz and Karl are two sides of the same coin, and German director Nicolas Stemann illustrates this by personifying the brothers as a choir of brothers and building the text as an orchestral work. Premiered at Thalia Theatre, Hamburg 2008.
