The Loser

The Austrian author Thomas Bernhard was a master of exaggeration. He himself would have said that he neither could nor wanted to exaggerate. And yet his texts are full of artful exaggerations, intensifications, and unreasonable demands. In long streams of thought, the narrator in Bernhard’s novel *Der Untergeher* looks back on the relationships of a lifetime. His powerful memories seem like an attempt to vent his despair. “Where is the place where I can bear it?” asks *Der Untergeher*. “How can I come to terms with myself? And when did I pass the moment when the future was still open to me?” Composer David Lang incorporates these questions into his solo performance for baritone, *The Loser*. His music repeatedly causes Bernhard’s rage to collapse in on itself, allowing his insecurity to emerge. The questions remain the same. Naturally, we don’t expect any answers. There aren’t any. And yet we listen, fascinated, to the screams and cries for help. After all, we ourselves are in desperate need of support.