Esther Dierkes and Björn Bürger present a recital program in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, accompanied by Cornelius Meister on the piano.

4. Song Recital

Galería Estatal de Stuttgart

Your own daughter’s hand as a prize in a singing competition – imagine that! There could hardly be a stronger sign of the belief in the systemic relevance of art. And indeed, goldsmith Veit Pogner, who offers his daughter Eva as a prize, is just one of many masters from Nuremberg for whom their art is more than just a nice-sounding sideline: it is no less than a community-building and society-improving force. In the Meistersinger, we encounter a group of utopians who are not interested in their origins or money, but in innovation and the future. Eva’s own attitude to the whole thing is, as so often, of secondary importance. She already knows who she would like to be sung by and who she would rather not. Wagner initially conceived Die Meistersinger as a comic opera, and so everything ends on a superficially happy note: at the end, Eva’s crush Stolzing wins the competition and the bride – an impoverished squire, of all people. The future comes from the past, not only in terms of the son-in-law’s origins, but also with regard to the end of the utopia: the whole thing culminates in the Meistersinger Hans Sachs, who mentored the Junker Stolzing to victory, being crowned King of Art: “Heil Sachs!” and glory to the holy German art. In Wagner’s works, the monstrous often peeps through the tiniest of cracks. With the Meistersinger, Elisabeth Stöppler and Cornelius Meister also tell a piece of German history and mentality between awakening and restoration and, in this German Midsummer Night's Dream (Elisabeth Stöppler), focus on the relationship between the generations and the question of why what was is perhaps also what will be.

The Mastersingers of Nuremberg

Stuttgart Opera

Opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957)
Libretto by Paul Schott (Julius and Erich Wolfgang Korngold) after the novel
«Bruges la morte» by Georges Rodenbach

EPSG:4326

Die tote Stadt

Opernhaus Zürich

"It is a simple and tremendous problem of life: that of fidelity", is how Hugo von Hofmannsthal described the core of their third opera together, Ariadne auf Naxos, in a letter to Richard Strauss. To live does not mean to persevere and hold on to what has been lost. If you want to live, you have to let go, forget, get over yourself - constantly transform yourself. This is what a young opera composer experiences in this work when he is confronted with the stubborn wishes of his patron; just like the protagonist of his opera, Ariadne, who, abandoned by her lover, Theseus, expects only death. But things turn out differently... Strauss and Hofmannsthal let the opposites collide: Tragedy and comedy, light music and grand opera, playfulness and seriousness. Thus, in the mirroring of art and life, between gaze and gaze, the unfathomable mystery of transformation takes place.

Ariadne auf Naxos

Staatsoper Hamburg

Gioachino Rossini's comic opera "The Barber of Seville," premiered in 1816, is subtitled "Useless Caution" – and that's precisely what it's about: Filled with jealousy, the old Doctor Bartolo tries to keep his ward Rosina at home so he can marry her for his own rich inheritance. But in vain: The young and far more charming Count Almaviva gains access to the young woman's heart thanks to a masquerade and the help of the barber Figaro. With its virtuoso arias and fast-paced ensembles, "The Barber of Seville" is Rossini's most popular opera.

Il barbiere di Siviglia

Semperoper Dresden

In his opera Rossini brought together a string of well-known “commedia dll’arte” characters of which he formed an irresistible comedy – full of intrigue and charade: the mercenary guardian Doctor Bartolo and his conniving henchman Basilio, his wealthy charge Rosina and her secret lover Lindoro (alias Count Almaviva) and finally the barber Figaro himself, who assists the young couple in the pursuit of their love against all odds. The opera’s world premiere in 1816 was accompanied by boos and catcalls – only to get firmly established in the world of opera shortly after. Rossini’s work by now has developed into one of the most popular and most frequently played operas world-wide.

«I am the enemy you killed, my friend,» writes an English lieutenant in 1918 on the front in northern France. On the day of the ceasefire, Wilfred Owen falls at the age of 25. The death knell and the peal of peace bells overlap, their echo resonating in Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem: an anti-militarist, anti-nationalist monument of remembrance, collective mourning and personal loss. Marked by the violence of two world wars, the work was premiered in 1962 to celebrate the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral. Just as the ruins are integrated into the new architecture there, Owen’s poems also disrupt the structure of the Latin Requiem Mass. Britten’s setting draws on the emotional power of the Requiem tradition and incorporates that insight into human nature that distinguishes him as an opera composer. War Requiem stands for pacifism as an artistic stance and, sadly, is no less relevant in our political present. The internationally acclaimed production from London where, in 2018, it commemorated the end of the First World War, also makes a stance for peace. It is now being rehearsed by the artistic team around director Daniel Kramer and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans at the invitation of Deutsche Oper Berlin. In this production, Kramer’s poetically powerful physical work merges with the unconventional, worldly perspective of star photographer Tillmans, who is making his operatic debut in Berlin. Together, they create timeless situations where trauma and solace, weight and intimacy reside. Photographic snapshots crown the space, seeming to observe themselves, coalescing into silent landscapes. In the spirit of artistic exchange, the solo parts at the premiere were to be sung by a Russian soprano, a British tenor and a German baritone. At the last minute, the Soviet government prevented its star soprano from participating. Now this symbolic cast is to be realised under the musical direction of Britten expert Sir Donald Runnicles with Elena Tsallagova, Nicky Spence and Björn Bürger.

Björn Bürger

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 14 - Jul 14, 2026

Il barbiere di Siviglia · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Jun 18 - Jul 2, 2027

War Requiem · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Past events

Apr 9, 2026

4. Song Recital · Staatsorchester Stuttgart

Feb 7 - Mar 22, 2026

The Mastersingers of Nuremberg · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Future and recently performed repertoire

Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss

Staatsoper Hamburg

Figaro in The Barber of Seville by Rossini

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini

Semperoper Dresden

Singer in War Requiem by Britten

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Sixtus Beckmesser in The Mastersingers of Nuremberg by Wagner

Staatsoper Stuttgart

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