“The mind is like a parachute,” the late maverick Frank Zappa once said. “It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.” The Zurich native Aviel Cahn, general manager of the Grand Théâtre de Genève since 2019, plainly has a parachute in excellent working order. A trained musician with a doctorate in law, Cahn left Switzerland in his mid 20s to manage international relations for the Beijing Orchestra, moved on to become head of casting for the Finnish National Opera, and has since directed the Bern Opera, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and the Flemish Opera (next stop: the Deutsche Oper Berlin). In Geneva, Cahn has shown a surprising soft spot for out-of-the-box Americana. His inaugural production in Calvin’s city was a highly acclaimed reboot of the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson milestone Einstein on the Beach. Cahn’s farewell is even weirder: a live-action reenactment of Zappa’s 1971 cinematic cult flick 200 Motels, starring Zappa’s freakout band The Mothers of Invention. In the film, Theodore Bikel played the all-important role of Master of Ceremonies, who may be the Devil. Bikel’s greatest claims to fame were in live musical theater. Opposite Mary Martin’s Maria, he was the original Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and his tally of more than 2,100 performances as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, on Broadway and elsewhere, broke records. The Geneva Emcee is the bass-baritone Justin Hopkins, who has proved his operatic powers as the priestly Sarastro of The Magic Flute, Rossini’s Moses, and Kurt Weill’s conscience-stricken Javert figure Olim in Der Silbersee. He also has an ongoing side hustle channeling the legendary singer-activist Paul Robeson (of “Old Man River” fame). Plus, the guy has sung for the Dalai Lama. The Devil should be a piece of cake. —Matthew Gurewitsch