Charlie
Chaplin's 1940 first feature-length "talkie" spotlights a satirical
dictator whose demise is brought about by a Jewish barber who bears a striking
resemblance to the tyrannical leader. In "The Great Dictator",
Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly
tweaking of his own comic persona. The Great Dictator boldly targeted the
fascist leader before the United States' official entry into World War II, and
is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin's
famously impassioned plea for tolerance.
This is part of Chicago Opera Theater’s Viewpoints, a program designed
around our operas in collaboration with other cultural organizations in
Chicago.
http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/the-season/special-events
