Set Designer

To the world-famous strains of Verdi's triumphal march, Kassel's new opera ship sets sail on its voyage through the ocean of the global market and the shallows of its global crises. What begins as a sensual cruise on our theatrical stage tanker in Kassel's new INTERIM venue will soon become the benchmark for a future of experiential music theater. And no sooner have we set sail than some are already grumbling that the boat is full, while others are demanding new defensive capabilities to preserve the current prosperity on deck.

Despite its crew of over 200 people—including the chorus, extra chorus, and supernumeraries, the state orchestra, the stage orchestra, the famous six distant trumpets, and the international cast of outstanding soloists—this musical ship of dreams is already listing badly on its maiden voyage with Giuseppe Verdi's Aida . For it soon becomes clear that Verdi's ecstatic love story is primarily a parable of European imperialism—especially in the popular choral scenes with their biting musical jabs at the war-mongering Prussian military and its blind obedience. This imperialistic quest for a place in the sun evokes memories of the German Empire, forcibly founded by Prussia in 1871, the year of the premiere, which is now confined to the walls of the Kassel Jägerkaserne, built in 1910. On its former parade ground, the new INTERIM of the formerly Prussian, now Hessian State Theatre Kassel will open in autumn 2025 with Verdi's monumental work.

Aida

Staatstheater Kassel

Macbeth hears a prophecy from three strange witch-like figures that he will become king of Scotland. The news triggers a series of brutal thoughts and actions in him and even more so in his wife, Lady Macbeth. It was not by chance that Verdi chose this Shakespeare text as the basis of his opera: the title character goes through the hell of spiritual depth, doubts and ruthlessness, unearthly forces, dramatic murders, and psychic turmoil again and again. Situation and motifs that yearn for an opera stage and unfold to music. The production is staged by Matthew Wild, who is widely recognized as a leading musical theatre director of his generation in South Africa, and he is now an increasingly sought-after artist on European stages as well. His productions are praised for their intelligence, visual prowess, and musicality. The clash of (English and ancient African) cultures and their influence on each other also play an important role in his Macbeth performance, just as the earthly and mystical-transcendental worlds intertwine as sharp contrasts in the opera.

Macbeth

Hungarian State Opera

“Nixon in China is John Adams' most successful opera to date and, from the point of view of contemporary American music as a whole, one of the most celebrated operas. In his documentary work, Adams solves the dispassion of news reports with the tools of music, and although the work is about the US president's five-day visit to China, the music is not a conveyor of a political message. The tragicomic power of Adams' music largely stems from the contrast between the two worlds and customs,” writes Zoltán Csehy in his opera guide. Nixon in China has become a globally popular opera performed more frequently in recent times due to the exciting theme of the meeting of the American and Chinese cultures. Therefore, its Hungarian premiere is also timely. Presented in the OPERA’s Anglophone Season, artistic director András Almási-Tóth used the special spaces of the Eiffel Art Studios with exciting imagination.

Nixon In China

Eiffel Art Studios

Without resting on the laurels of the sensational success of Hänsel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck elevates the fairy-tale opera to new heights with his setting of Elsa Bernstein's touching and poignant saga of the royal children – and captures the spirit of the times by incorporating the symbolist poetry of Art Nouveau and the still-nascent field of psychoanalysis into the grand stage work. After its premiere at the Met in New York in 1910, The Royal Children was performed worldwide for years before fading from the spotlight. It is time 
to bring it back into the cultural consciousness in a lasting way as chief conductor Markus Poschner bids farewell.

Set Designer

Sebastian Hannak

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 23, 2027

Premiere: Königskinder · Bruckner Orchester Linz

Past events

Mar 7 - Apr 11, 2026

Aida · Staatstheater Kassel

Feb 22 - Mar 9, 2025

Macbeth · Hungarian State Opera House

About

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