It’s there in the glass harmonica ghosts of “Lucia di Lammermoor”, in Elektra’s revenge fantasies, and in the lopsided waltz rhythms and Walpurgis Night dances of the “Symphonie fantastique”: madness looms large in the history of music. Especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and especially in musical theater. The creators of maniacal works are often themselves famous for their transgressions and turbulent emotional odysseys. Richard Wagner created works based on his feeling of being an outsider, and composed while intoxicated. Ludwig van Beethoven and Hector Berlioz developed a similar notoriety – and the list goes on. In music, genius and madness somehow belong together – and to this day, we continue to forgive the enfants terribles for their unspeakable recklessness and egotism. All in the name of art? But madness isn’t just for egomaniacs. Our takt1 theme surveys the terrain.