The Infernal Comedy is a star-studded international music and theatre project. The distinguished film and stage actor John Malkovich teams up with celebrated sopranos Chen Reiss and Susanne Langbein in a performance that probes deep into the controversies of human nature.

The performance is based on the true story of Jack Unterweger, a serial killer of women. Convicted to serve a life sentence in Austria in 1976, in 1990 Unterweger published his autobiography entitled Purgatory, which made him a literary celebrity and persuaded Austrian intellectuals to campaign successfully for his release from prison. But soon more murders followed …

John Malkovich plays the talented and criminally minded villain while the two sopranos sing arias from Haydn, Mozart, Gluck, Vivaldi and other great classical composers, mirroring Unterweger’s emotional states and representing the women in his life – his mother, who abandoned him, and the victims of his psychotic disorders.

One of Austria’s finest classical music ensembles, Orchester Wiener Akademie, conducted by Martin Haselböck, performs on stage.

Mixing theatre, opera and orchestral music, Infernal Comedy is a haunting exploration of the macabre depths of the human psyche.

The performance is not suitable for people under 16.

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria.

The Intermezzo Programme is a collaboration between Varna Summer International Music Festival and Varna Summer International Theatre Festival.