sentences:  The opera is a fairly faithful adaption of the Alfred Jarry's play "Ubu Roi", which is itself a parody of William Shakespeare's tragedies (particularly "Macbeth", "Hamlet" and "King Lear"), combining the subject of bloody power struggles with comedic and absurdist elements.The story centers around the titular Ubu, an ambitious but physically unintimidating and cowardly captain in service to the King Wenceslaus of Poland.Wenceslaus being deeply unpopular as the result of a poorly executed war between Poland and Russia, Ubu's wife convinces him to kill the king and usurp his throne.