In 1985, German investigative journalist Günter Wallraff published *Ganz Unten* (translated as *Lowest of the Low*), documenting roughly two years he spent undercover as a Turkish migrant worker named Ali Sinirlioğlu. Disguised with a black wig, brown contact lenses, and darkened skin, Wallraff entered a labor market reliant on migrant workers while exposing the harsh and exploitative conditions they faced. His experiences ranged from cleaning toilets at McDonald's to serving as a human subject for pharmaceutical testing and inhaling toxic dust as a subcontracted worker at the Thyssen steelworks.

The book sold over five million copies in Germany and shed light on the illegal and unsafe working environments endured by the Gastarbeiter—foreign workers imported during West Germany’s postwar economic boom to support reconstruction. For many Turkish families, the book became a poignant record of the adversity their relatives faced. However, Wallraff’s method of assuming another identity has recently faced criticism over cultural insensitivity.

Four decades after its release, *Lowest of the Low* was adapted into an opera by composer Tulûg Tirpan. The production, debuting this month at London’s Arcola Theatre, was directed and libretto written by Mehmet Ergen, founder and artistic director of Arcola. The staging distinctly separates Wallraff from his alias, with actor Ryan Wichert portraying Günter and Turkish bass-baritone Burak Bilgili performing as Ali. The two characters often face each other on stage, symbolizing the duality of Wallraff’s disguise taking an independent life.

The opera premiered in August 2024 at the Kunstfest Weimar in Thuringia, a state known for strong support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD secured 32.8 percent of the vote in the 2024 Thuringia state election—the first far-right state-level victory since 1945—and garnered 20.8 percent in the 2025 federal election. Rolf Hemke, Kunstfest’s artistic director from 2019 to 2025, emphasized the political significance of presenting the opera in an AfD stronghold, saying it underscored urgent themes of equality, integration, and mutual respect. He described the book as a lens through which Germany’s changing relationship with immigration and the rise of reactionary politics over the past 45 years can be understood.

Wallraff, now 83, expressed concern about contemporary Germany’s political trajectory, particularly the influence of the AfD, stating that the country’s future rests on whether the party’s access to government can be prevented. He noted that the exploitative system he revealed persists worldwide, wherever insecure migrant workers fill roles others avoid. Examples include Syrian refugees in Turkey’s construction sector and Romanians harvesting fruit in Britain before EU accession.

Director Ergen highlighted the opera’s blend of dark humor and horror drawn from the original book. Scenes such as the perplexed optician questioning the need for brown lenses on a blond German, and an indifferent undertaker calculating coffin transportation costs for a dying migrant, illustrate this tonal mix. Tirpan, who first encountered *Ganz Unten* as a teenager in Turkey, admired Wallraff’s courage and endurance but suggested that modern methods, aided by the internet, have made similar undercover investigations less necessary.

Wallraff dismissed critiques about cultural appropriation related to his undercover work as abstract distractions, emphasizing that his journalism serves to align with marginalized groups lacking a voice. His personal history, including time spent in an orphanage during childhood, contributed to his identification with those subjected to injustice.

Musically, the opera is scored for piano, violin, and cello, reflecting influences from early 20th-century composer Kurt Weill and incorporating Turkish rhythms and harmonies. The modest instrumentation allowed for disciplined composition suitable for touring. Wallraff, unfamiliar with opera, deferred artistic control to Ergen and Tirpan, both of Turkish heritage, recognizing their right to interpret the material freely and warning against censorship.

*Lowest of the Low* is scheduled to run at London’s Arcola Theatre from August 12 to 15.