To mark the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth, we are celebrating his anniversary with the creation of four choreographies of very different styles to four of his most famous compositions.

Ravel Evening

German Oper am Rhein

The somnambulistic piece Matsukaze, a reworking of theJapanese Nō theatre material of the Master Zeami from the 15th century, recounts the unhappy love of two sisters, the salt water maidens, Matsukaze and Murasame, for the courtier, Yukihira. When he must leave one day, he promises them he will return, for his longing will call him back. But, he dies. The two sisters are left imprisoned by their yearning, become ghosts, return to the living again and again. Only a monk can help them out of their entrapment. Hosokawa’s composition transforms nature moods into tender, loving sounds, plays with silence, traces the passage of time and non-passage of intimate feelings, madness, the relationship between past, present and future, between the fundamental connection of human existence and nature. The world premiere was celebrated in 2011 at the Opéra La Monnaie in Brussels. For the Bayerische Staatsoper production, the director duo Lotte van den Berg and Tobias Staab will now collaborate for the first time with the visual, internationally active artist, Alicja Kwade.

Matsukaze

Utopia

A secretive empire, ruled by a legendary queen – Alcina is all things at once: strong, powerful, clever and beguilingly beautiful. Again and again, she seduces strange men, who follow her call, onto her island, and again and again Alcina hopes without end to find true love. But her dream always ends in disappointment. The traces of past loves are strewn across the land – former suitors are now magically transformed and held captive in the island’s flora and fauna. But when Ruggiero lands on the island, Alcina is convinced – this is the right one! Meanwhile another “man” appears. Ruggiero’s fiancé Bradamante, disguised as her brother, Ricciardo, and searching for Ruggiero. When Alcina’s magic then also begins to gradually disappear, everything goes topsy-turvy.

Matthias Singer

Events

Upcoming events

13 - 28 Jul, 2026

Alcina · Bayerische Staatsoper

Past events

Sep 9 - Nov 8, 2025

Ravel Evening · Deutsche Oper am Rhein

3 - 11 May, 2025

Matsukaze · Bayerische Staatsoper

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