Text by Thomas Körner after the play “Les Paravents” by Jean Genet
Place and time: Algeria, just before the War of Liberation 1954, which led to Independence 1962

Characters: The Mother (soprano) - Said, her Son (tenor) - Leila, his Wife (soprano) - Kadidja, Arabian Wailer, the "first Lady of the village (Mezzo-soprano) - Ommou (alto) - Nedima (Soubrette) - Habiba (mezzo-soprano) - Chiga (soprano), Arabian Wailer - Warda, a kind of Princess of the Whores (alto) - Malika, Whore (Soubrette) - Sir Harold, French Colonialist (baritone) - M. Blankensee, French Colonialist (tenor) - Mme Blankensee, (mezzo-soprano) - Actor (speaking and silent parts). Beside the main parts (Mother, Said, Leila, Ommou, Kadidja, Warda) the singers play more parts (also speaking parts).
(At least 9 speakers spread out over the auditorium and the stage)

The Arabs are becoming increasingly restless under French colonial rule and the first rebellions have been recorded. This is the background against which the fate of the Brennessel ("Nettle) family is played out. Said and his mother are so poor that Said is only able to marry the least attractive woman in the region, Leila, who turns out to be unconditionally devoted to him. Said's situation actually worsens because of his marriage, since his mother squabbles and picks on Leila, and Said is ridiculed by his colleagues for having such an ugly wife. Said dreams of moving to France to earn more money. Accused of a theft, however, Said is sent to jail and his mother is excluded from the group of professional mourners. Leila, meanwhile, deliberately becomes a thief in order to be close to her husband in jail. Running parallel to these events is the story of the French colonial officials Sir Harold and Sir Blankensee, who are animatedly discussing their hobby, gardening, unaware that the Arabs have begun to rebel. Finally, the libretto calls for the action to take place on three levels: the first shows Said and Leila in jail. The second depicts a French military parade. The third presents Madame Blankensee who ends her boring marriage with a well-aimed gunshot. The revolution claims many victims on both sides. They all come together in the netherworld, where they ask one another: "Why all the fuss? Said is ultimately shot by his fellow Arabs, since his desire to emigrate to France had made him become a traitor in their eyes.


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