Theatre of the World

Theatre of the World is the fifth and last opera by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, with a libretto by Helmut Krausser. Subtitled A Grotesque Stagework in 9 Scenes, the work concerns itself with the life of 17th-century Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher and was premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles 6 May 2016, a co-production between Los Angeles Philharmonic and Dutch National Opera, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. The title alludes to the Catholic idea that life is a great play with God as the author, a concept also found in Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" passage.