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Attractive because repulsive - that’s one way to describe the contradictory fascination potential of William Shakespeare’s most enigmatic character, Othello. He probably could not have existed at the time of his creation: Black, a stranger, yet risen to the top of Venetian society through merit and spectacular eloquence, he marries the beautiful Desdemona.

When the beach lies beneath the pavement, as it was often said in the past, it is not far to the sea. Gladis, the protagonist of this opera, follows the opposite direction, from the sea to the pavement. Gladis is an orca. And she wants to break what she breaks. Cruise ships, superyachts, that sort of thing. On her quest for revenge, she meets Lone, who promises her human form for 24 hours and demands one of her fins as a reward. On the pavement, she meets Abad and Ge, an urban guerrilla, schoolchildren on a museum visit to Stammheim. Gladis gets caught between the fronts and questions arise: Does the end justify the means? What remains when every truth is distorted? And if you can't fight violence peacefully, is militancy the last resort left to us all? But or because this is a fairy tale, the kiss of true love can free Gladis from everything in between.

Not all great works are completed: in 1781, the year of the premiere of his Idomeneo , WA Mozart broke off work on his “serious German Singspiel” Zaide , the first attempt at an exoticizing “Turkish opera”, which was followed by the “ light-hearted” Abduction from the Seraglio . But what exactly does “the Turkish” want in it and where does it come from? (Certainly not from Turkey!) Director Jessica Glause uses the surviving Zaide material in Ludwigsburg's Schlosstheater to ask who actually formulates an “us and the others” against the backdrop of which tradition. The history of European musical theater is closely interwoven with the justifying legends of colonialism and racism, ie the arbitrary division of humanity into superior and inferior. Cultures represented as “foreign” through the supposedly neutral standard of the Central European lens have thus been projected into weak, sexualized female figures or despotic ragers again and again over four centuries.

With Gustav Mahler's monumental Eighth Symphony, Cornelius Meister and the State Orchestra continue their Mahler cycle and, together with eight vocal soloists, the children's choir and the State Opera Choir, bring the symphony concert series to a crowning conclusion. Shortly after completing the score, Mahler said in 1907: "The symphony must be like the world. It must encompass everything". This central credo for Mahler is reflected in the variety of forms and musical characters of his Eighth Symphony. Baroque fugue techniques can be found in it as well as a tonal language influenced by Richard Wagner. The first and only two performances during his lifetime were Mahler's greatest triumph. After the premiere in 1910, Thomas Mann commented that Mahler embodied "the most serious and sacred artistic will of our time".

Rigoletto wants to protect his daughter by all means from the advances of the hated, encroaching Duke - but in the end he is struck by the tragic realization that his revenge has failed most horribly: instead of the Duke, his own daughter has fallen victim to him. Tenor Kai Kluge makes his debut as the Duke of Mantua, while Beate Ritter once again takes on the role of Gilda after the acclaimed series in the 2018/19 season. Devid Cecconi sings the title role. The young, internationally acclaimed Italian-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti is at the podium of the Staatsorchester Stuttgart.

Local zeitgeist meets classical high culture - you can be curious! This year, the HipHop Open Festival presents a unique event: "Opera meets HipHop". The event combines classical opera setting with modern hip-hop to create an innovative and rousing musical performance. The audience* will be taken on a musical journey that breaks the boundaries of genre and style. An event not to be missed!