The Great Dictator

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.