Italian composer Marco Tutino based the plot of his opera Le braci (Embers) on a famous novel by Hungarian writer Sándor Márai. Set against the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Le braci tells the story of a broken friendship, of the inevitability of the ageing process, and of violent feelings that remain smouldering beneath the ashes of the past. The opera revolves around the reunion between an elderly general, Henrik, and his best friend from military school, Konrad. Both men loved the same woman, Kristina. Forty years on, the two men meet again to speak about the past and about Kristina, now long dead. Their conversation is a deep meditation on love, friendship and morality.

Sung in Italian