Tycoons Ratefreund and Hoffegut see great potential profits in their utopian city of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Mobilizing the birds for their cause is a means to an end; their destruction by the gods is nothing more than collateral damage. Between ancient themes and late Romantic music, Walter Braunfels' opera hovers as a biting social critique over a realm between heaven and earth. Director Ersan Mondtag returns to Wiesbaden after the success of "Double Serpent"—invited to the 2025 Berlin Theatertreffen—not only as director but also as the driving force behind the spectacular set design.

The birds: Opera by Walter Braunfels

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Line 2: Radio Music

E-WERK Freiburg e.V.

Walter Braunfels' opera "The Birds" was a huge success in 1920 - in Munich alone, there were 50 further performances after the premiere, all of which were sold out. This long-standing success came to an abrupt end in 1933: while his contribution to "German culture" was still being appreciated in 1921, the Nazi regime banned his works without further ado: Braunfels was a so-called "half-Jew".

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The birds

Staatstheater Braunschweig

Staatstheater Mainz

The ARC Ensemble celebrates its 20th anniversary with Walter Braunfels's ravishing String Quintet, one of ARC’s early discoveries. The program also features the lush Romantic works of Frederick Block, whose thriving career was cut short in 1938 when he fled Vienna and moved to New York. Block's music has not been heard in over 75 years. ARC’s Artistic Director, Simon Wynberg, will introduce these two extraordinary composers.

ARC Ensemble: Celebrating 20 Years

The Royal Conservatory of Music

Alan Gilbert makes his first appearance of the season playing violin in Dvořák’s String Quintet in E-flat Major, which includes an additional viola (the composer’s own instrument) and dates from Dvořák’s time in America. The program also spotlights another 19th-century Czech composer, the cello virtuoso David Popper—whose exquisitely tender Requiem features the unusual scoring of three cellos and a piano—and it includes the wonderfully rich (thanks to its two cellos) String Quintet in F-sharp Minor by the early-20th-century German composer Walter Braunfels.

Walter Braunfels

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 21 - Jun 26, 2026

The birds: Opera by Walter Braunfels · Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Past events

Mar 21 - Jun 26, 2026

The birds: Opera by Walter Braunfels · Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Apr 3, 2025

Line 2: Radio Music · SWR Symphonieorchester

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