Die Mumie von Rotterdam. Erster Theil

In the bustling harbor of Rotterdam, the scent of spices and the clamor of merchants create a vivid tapestry of late‑eighteenth‑century life. Amid the throng, two of the city’s most affluent traders—Tobias van Vlieten and Jan van Daalen—move with a detached confidence that both commands respect and fuels curiosity. Tobias, a man whose fortunes were forged in the far‑off markets of the East, bears the unsettling air of a living mummy: gaunt, pale, and wrapped in opulent garments that glitter even as his inner world remains tightly sealed.

When news spreads that the young, newly‑inherited Cypriana Hoogendöbel has come into possession of a massive fortune, Tobias’s ambition ignites into a fervent pursuit. His calculated charm masks a deeper, unresolved grief, and his desire to claim Cypriana sets the stage for a tangled web of attraction, rivalry, and hidden motives. As the first act unfolds, listeners are drawn into a world where wealth, longing, and the shadows of the past converge on the banks of the Maas.