Chess Opera “Operation Capablanca”

Zenita Komad’s “Chess Opera” — A Living Game of Art, Music, and Mind

In an unprecedented fusion of art, performance, and strategy, Zenita Komad created a life-scale Chess Opera — a work that transformed the ancient game into a living, breathing artwork. Written as both libretto and conceptual score, Komad’s opera positioned human figures as chess pieces, moving across a monumental board in a powerful meditation.

To bring her vision to life, Komad invited the renowned Austrian composer Bernhard Lang to compose the music — a score of intricate repetitions and variations mirroring the psychological intensity of the chessboard. As the game unfolded, it was Lothar Schmid, the legendary referee of the 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, who came to Vienna to officiate the performance — turning history itself into part of the staging.

The opera was realized in the Kunsthalle Wien, where Komad transformed the exhibition space into a monumental stage for this hybrid of performance, music, and philosophy. Ignaz Kirchner, one of Austria’s great actors, appeared in a silent role — a contemplative presence amid the strategic drama — while Maria Harpner gave voice to Lang’s powerful score, her singing animating the otherwise wordless geometry of the game.

With this work, Zenita Komad not only initiated a new form of opera but also inscribed her vision into the history of contemporary music and performance art. Her “Chess Opera” stands as a bold statement.