Jacques Offenbach composed more than 100 operas and operettas, most of them with unique wit and biting satire, original and inspired. At the end of his illustrious career in Paris, which stretched over five decades, he turned to his most ambitious operatic work Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), an opéra fantastique based on a play that premiered in 1881.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Bebelplatz

Danae must marry a wealthy man to settle her father's debts. All dream of gold here, and Danae more than all others. A powerful man takes an interest in her and sends another ahead. It would appear the right husband has been found. But, of course his wealth comes with a condition which stands in the way of true happiness. Danae must, Danae can choose between wealth and love, between dreams and reality, between the promises of wealth and riches, and of love and all its happiness. 

The Love of Danae

Max-Joseph-Platz

Since its first performance in 1893, Humperdinck's most famous opera Hansel and Gretel has remained constantly popular, becoming over the generations almost synonymous with the first family visit to the opera. "Brother come and dance with me!“ – "Susie, dear Susie" – a dancing brother and sister, the Dew Fairy and the Sandman, the Witch and the parents: a collection of all the fairy tale elements of the 19th century. And yet this is also a tale of hardship, hunger and the desire for abundance with a clear moral: "When the need is greatest, God the Lord puts out His hand!“

Hänsel Und Gretel

The U.S. Forces show their presence world-wide: American Lieutenant Pinkerton has an affair in Nagasaki with Cio-Cio San, "Madame Butterfly". He sails away. She then has his child. Three years later he returns to Japan – accompanied by his American wife and wants to take the child with him. Butterfly commits suicide.

Madama Butterfly

Seeing his love succeed against the will of the parents is pretty difficult in a rural setting. Especially when he is also considered an outsider, things do not look good with the parents-in-law, and there's a lot of money in the mix as well. But what Hans negotiates with Kezal the marriage broker, without discussing it with his beloved Marie, certainly requires a very special kind of chutzpah, and it very nearly goes all wrong – bartering his loved one to a certain person, which turns out through rhetorical trickery to be himself, only becomes evident as a good idea at the end. Which once again proves: The comedy is only a tragedy avoided at the very last minute.

The Bartered Bride

"How beautiful Princess Salome is tonight!". Oscar Wilde's French drama, arranged as opera text by the composer himself, was a stroke of genius of the fin de siècle, a scandal on one hand and an absolute hit on the other, both an artistic and a financial success which allowed Richard Strauss to buy his villa in Garmisch. Salome demands the head of the prophet, John the Baptist, who has rejected her, from her lustful stepfather – and bound by an oath, he cannot deny her. And so the zealous admonisher dies, and with him the princess is undone – "Kill this woman!". Krzysztof Warlikowski is convinced that Salome recounts many of the contradictions of the period of origin, that in this piece, however, much is also dismissed of that which at the time was still the future: "It's not just what's in the work of art itself that is important, whether it be Oscar Wilde or Richard Strauss, but rather the whole context, which Christianity and the history of the 20th century add to this piece."

Salome

Richard Wagner considered RHEINGOLD a "pre-evening" to his stage play DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, a label that certainly deliberately refers to the prologues of the Baroque operas. Because here, as well as there, the gods are in control and create the conditions under which the fates of man will be decided. And just like the ancient deities of Monteverdi, their northern counterparts of Wagner are beings who embody the drives of human existence. All of the feelings, urges and thoughts that determine our own existence also appear in the two and a half hours of RHEINGOLD. Starting with the innocent games played by the Rheinmaidens whom the Nibelung Alberich robs of their gold, to this dwarf's unbridled lust for power and the scornful nihilism of the fire god Loge, to the father of the gods Wotan's attempt to create something that will last with his palace of Valhalla. And not lastly, the gold itself is a mute lead character: an item of gleaming fascination, it is simultaneously a touchstone by which each character is manifest and which divides gods and man alike into good and evil.

Der Ring des Nibelungen – Das Rheingold

Deutsche Oper Berlin

The two middle sections of the tetralogy set out two ways of experiencing life. On the one hand we are presented in THE VALKYRIE with Brünnhilde, whose maturation process takes her from her discovery of sorrow and empathy to a conscious reflection on what it is to be human. By contrast, Siegfried’s path is mapped out solely as a function of his sensory experience. Where initially the young man’s self-image stems only from his exploration of his own boundless strength, other senses and sensibilities soon come to bear, along with an awakening sexuality. SIEGFRIED presents an encounter not only between man and woman but between two principles – Siegfried’s innate, unquestioned vigour on one side and Brünnhilde’s wisdom born of observation on the other. And as these two diametrical forces unite in a love clinch, the end of the opera seems to be presenting the basis for a renewal of human society.

Der Ring des Nibelungen – Siegfried

A Japanese girl sacrifices her heritage for the American dream when a naval officer chooses her for his bride. Her dream is crushed by betrayal when he traps her in the very cage she wishes to escape. She seizes her destiny, and the devastating outcome lingers long after the final note.

EPSG:4326

The Santa Fe Opera

With unbridled passion, devastating heartbreak and unspoken regret, Tatyana’s love is rejected by Onegin, who, a little too late, realizes his mistake. Don’t miss this unforgettable journey through longing, desire and the haunting question: What if?

Ya-Chung Huang

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 16, 2025 - Mar 22, 2026

Les Contes d’Hoffmann · Staatsoper Berlin

5 - 12 Dec, 2025

Hänsel Und Gretel · Bayerische Staatsoper

Jan 31 - Feb 6, 2026

Madama Butterfly · Bayerische Staatsoper

7 - 17 Feb, 2026

The Bartered Bride · Bayerische Staatsoper

Feb 23 - Mar 5, 2026

Salome · Bayerische Staatsoper

Past events

Nov 16, 2025 - Mar 22, 2026

Les Contes d’Hoffmann · Staatsoper Berlin

Feb 7 - Jul 25, 2025

The Love of Danae · Bayerische Staatsoper

Future and recently performed repertoire

Wenzel in The Bartered Bride by Smetana

Bayerische Staatsoper

Goro in Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Santa Fe Opera

Goro Nakodo in Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Bayerische Staatsoper

Erster Jude in Salome by Strauss

Bayerische Staatsoper

Mime in Das Rheingold by Wagner

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky

Santa Fe Opera

Mime in Siegfried by Wagner

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Die Knusperhexe in Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck

Bayerische Staatsoper

Andrès, Cochenille, Frantz, Pitichinaccio in Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Offenbach

Staatsoper Berlin

About

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