Singer

“Viva la libertà!” sing the protagonists at the end of the first act of Mozart’s dramma giocoso Don Giovanni . But what does freedom actually mean here? Is it Giovanni’s freedom to desire any woman at any time without restraint? Or rather the Enlightenment ideal of a society without class barriers? And how free are the people who try to resist their inner dependence on Giovanni? 

Don Giovanni

City Theatre, Bern

"I lived for art, I lived for love." In a dictatorship, the singer Floria Tosca fights for her great love, the painter Cavaradossi. Threatened by the ruthless police chief Baron Scarpia, she sees no other way out than to kill him. However, her love for Cavaradossi remains unfulfilled: contrary to their prior agreement, his execution is not staged, but the bullet strikes him dead. In despair, Tosca throws herself to her death. 

Tosca

When the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi decided in 1853 to make a courtesan the heroine of an opera, it was more than unusual; indeed, it was scandalous. Verdi was inspired to create his opera La traviata by the true life story of Marie Duplessis, who had died only a few years earlier – a story immortalized by Alexandre Dumas the Younger in his novel The Lady of the Camellias . Like Dumas, however, Verdi is not concerned with depicting reality, but rather with telling a story, exploring the tightrope walk between fate and self-determination. 

La traviata

Figaro and Susanna simply want to get married, but this proves more complicated than expected. On their way to wedlock, they must fend off intrigues and suitors, as well as face tests of loyalty and jealousy: Figaro's boss, Count Almaviva, is also courting Susanna, who allies herself with his wife, the Countess; Figaro, meanwhile, believes he has been betrayed – and then there's the lovelorn young Cherubino flitting about. A farcical comedy of disguises and mistaken identities ensues!

The Marriage of Figaro

For racist reasons, Leonora's father disapproves of her relationship with the stranger Alvaro. The two, however, refuse to let go of each other and decide to flee. In doing so, Alvaro unwittingly becomes the father's murderer. Leonora's brother seeks revenge for his father, and a cycle of violence ensues. La forza del destino is Giuseppe Verdi's most expansive opera: a spectacular portrayal of close family ties in times of war, of the Church, of escapism – like a painting by Brueghel. And no matter how much the protagonists resist, they experience life and the world as determined by fate, without escape and without hope for peace and forgiveness.

Bass

Christian Valle

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 6, 2026 - Jan 19, 2027

La traviata · Bühnen Bern

Nov 8, 2026 - Apr 13, 2027

Don Giovanni · Bühnen Bern

Past events

Nov 8, 2026 - Apr 13, 2027

Don Giovanni · Bühnen Bern

Sep 26 - Oct 20, 2026

Tosca · Bühnen Bern

Future and recently performed repertoire

The Marchese of Calatrava / Prade Guardiano in La forza del destino by Verdi

Bühnen Bern

Sexton in Tosca by Puccini

Bühnen Bern

Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart

Bühnen Bern

Leporello in Don Giovanni by Mozart

Bühnen Bern

About

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