Set Designer

«Free she was born, free she will die»: To preserve her freedom, Carmen even accepts her own death. With her uncompromising will to autonomy, she shattered the moral conventions of her time. This sets her apart from the many passive, self-sacrificing female characters of 19th-century opera – once a scandalous figure, later a figure of identification, always a large screen onto which audiences project their own feelings. Director Ole Anders Tandberg takes up these ambivalences and works with iconic images: the bright red flamenco dress, the torero costume and the bullring. But these symbols are not left uncommented upon; instead, they are exaggerated to the point of the grotesque and the macabre. An emotional rollercoaster ride with catchy tunes like the Habanera and the Toreador Song that will linger long in memory. Argentinian conductor Alejo Pérez, General Music Director of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, makes his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Gaëlle Arquez brings charm and sophistication to the French Carmen, and later our new ensemble member Kristina Stanek introduces herself as the new Berlin Carmen.

Carmen

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Three men have finally found their place on Earth. Here they will stay. With each other. But what happens when doubts creep in? Actors Lennart Jähkel, Andreas Kundler and Hampus Hallberg Take on a huge loom and an even bigger loom in a new performance by Alexander Mørk-Eidem. World premiere January 29 at Klarascenen, Kulturhuset City Theatre.

Men who weave

Kulturhuset Stadsteatern

Verdi’s celebrated dramatic masterpiece is a triumph of opera, brimming with some of its greatest musical highlights.

Rigoletto has everything one could wish for in Italian opera: a gripping storyline and unforgettable melodies that stay with you long after the curtain falls—including the famous tenor aria La donna è mobile.

Rigoletto

Royal Danish Opera

Georges Bizet’s titular heroine is as captivating a character as any in the history of opera. The different interpretations of Carmen are legion: we have the seductress, the personification of forbidden yearning, the standard bearer for the “eternally female” in the brutal battle of the sexes, the anarchist unfettered by bourgeois angst and compulsions, the archaic clairvoyante seeing her own death in the cards - yet free, as she does not dread her destiny. Few opera heroines are so open to interpretation and hence so able to serve as a mirror held up to society.

The straightforward yet profound language of Nobel laureate Jon Fosse, combined with enchanting soundscapes crafted by Bent Sørensen, forms the backbone of a new Danish-Norwegian opera. This dramatic work centres on the young, fate-entwined couple, Asle and Alida.

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Asle and Alida

Copenhagen Opera House

Giuseppe Verdi was once asked which of his own operas he liked best. ‘As a professional musician, Rigoletto,’ he replied. ‘But as an dilettante, I would choose La traviata above all.’ La traviata is the most moving, human and strikingly modern not only of Verdi’s operas, but of any from the period - the realist story of a downtrodden female victim of powerful men which hit as many nerves when it was first performed in 1853 as it continues to today.

Much of that is down to Verdi’s unrivalled musical storytelling - from the driving waltzes that propel the score forward with a sense of Parisian excess, to his sympathetic drawing of the opera’s heroine Violetta, the story’s only truly sympathetic human being. As Silvia Camerini has observed, Verdi portrays her ‘with profound subtlety, generosity and love and then tears her apart to the sound of champagne corks popping.’

La traviata

Grieghallen

Rodolfo, a young, unsuccessful writer, is seeking inspiration when a young woman unexpectedly appears on his doorstep: Mimì only wants to relight her extinguished candle, but their encounter unfolds one of the most moving love stories in operatic literature. Director Ole Anders Tandberg presents "La bohème" as a poetic fantasy about four provincial artists who dream of great success and suddenly find themselves immersed in the Parisian artistic myth. Giacomo Puccini's score unites some of his most famous arias and touches the audience with undiminished emotional power. Anna Netrebko will sing the role of Mimì in several performances.

Set Designer

Erlend Birkeland

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 4, 2026 - Mar 12, 2027

Carmen · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Jun 16 - Jul 10, 2027

La bohème · Opernhaus Zürich

Past events

Oct 4, 2026 - Mar 12, 2027

Carmen · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Jan 28 - Feb 22, 2026

Men who weave · Kulturhuset Stadsteatern

About

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