What a story! A man who knows he must die seeks another person willing to go to death in his place. Everyone refuses, even his elderly parents, whom he believes could sacrifice their lives for him. But the parents have no intention of doing so; the father even berates him as a coward for not wanting to face death. And who ends up doing it? Of course, the wife! But she sets a condition: he must never marry again. He promises. She dies, he survives. But he is not happy. Then a friend comes by, learns what has happened, and decides to bring the woman back from the realm of the dead. When he returns, he leads a veiled woman by the hand. Is it Alcestis? Although the husband is not sure, he takes her into his home at the urging of his friend. She remains silent. This story has been retold in various ways over the last 2000 years. An interdisciplinary lecture series at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre was dedicated to the different interpretations of the Alcestis myth.