Director

Where does language end and where does mayhem begin? When the infamous Herbert Fritsch appears, all the conventions of the theater go flying. Besides his proven extraordinary talent for directing comedies, he has developed his own unique theatrical language in recent years: beyond words, beyond meaning. He repeatedly brings texts to the stage that weren't intended for it, texts in which words become music ("Murmel Murmel"). When the Dada café Cabaret Voltaire opened in Zurich in 1916 and Dadaism was invented, someone commented: "That's a collection of young people who are creative and wanted to make a fuss." Ha! Dada is exactly Herbert Fritsch's thing. And mayhem too! A riot, a thunderous roar of irrationality, a hurricane of unbridled, unrestrained artistic venting. We no longer use the verb "rabatzen" (to cause a ruckus). It once meant "to hit," "to wrestle," "to rage," "to be in lust"—and that's the instruction given to the ensemble. Herbert Fritsch loves the stage, the theater, and people who love all of that too. Thirteen years after his last Cologne production—Brecht's "Puntila and His Servant Matti" as a "festival of unleashed actors" (Deutschlandradio)—he's back. Entirely in the Dada tradition, he embarks on a search for the unspeakable, the non-representational, the dissolution of language, which should, in fact, be redemption.

Riot!

Schauspiel Köln

Encouraged by the prophecies of the three witches and his lady's ambition, Macbeth kills the king and seizes power. A spiral of cruel murders begins. Far from the power they longed for, the couple is overcome by guilt that permeates their days and nights. Verdi's music depicts the dramatic intensity without respite, leading to madness. Director Herbert Fritsch discovers the grotesque in the tragic darkness. Iain MacNeil makes his debut at Theater Basel in the title role, and audience favorite Heather Engebretson returns as Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth

Theater Basel

Hamm, in a wheelchair, is served by Clov. Hamm's parents Nell and Nagg have been living in (garbage) cans since they lost their legs in a cycling accident. These four move between the continuous return of the unchangeable and the memory of "the past" by bullying and cajoling each other, conjuring and cursing, narrating and interrupting.

Fin de partie

Vienna State Opera

So everything would be wonderful - if it weren't for Don Bartolo, Rosina's guardian, who won't let her out of the house or out of his sight. He wants to marry Rosina himself and can rely on the support of music teacher Don Basilio, who provides him with information about his rival. The Count's dedicated helper is the title character: Figaro, Barber of Seville and the Count's former servant. His many pieces of good advice result above all in stunningly funny stage scenes and at least do not prevent the two lovers from finding each other in the end.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Seeking to test their girlfriends’ fidelity, two men wager that they will remain steadfast. They subject the women to passionate onslaught, and in the end, the fortress of their faithfulness falls. The men, however, involved as they are in the experiment, failed to reckon that they too might betray their partners and feelings. All this cheating, confusing, lying – to others and oneself – is grotesquely comical and simultaneously cruel. One side is inclined not to think about the new situation (Guglielmo and Dorabella), while the others try to comprehend it to the point of exhaustion (Fiordiligi and Ferrando). The final ceremony seeks to cement the social status quo, bringing this new freedom to its knees. The marriage, however, is only for show, and beneath the surface of tradition, the first cracks appear.

EPSG:4326

Così fan tutte

Staatsoper Hamburg

Herbert Fritsch kehrt nach Don Giovanni und Der fliegende Holländer an die Komische Oper Berlin zurück, diesmal im Doppelpack mit der deutschen Pop-Ikone Herbert Grönemeyer und einem opulenten, komischen, ebenso absurden wie gewitzten Klamauk über Eugène Labiches Verwechslungskomödie Ein Florentinerhut!

Pferd frisst Hut

Schiller Theater

What happens when you give Herbert Fritsch, a brilliant actor and director with a penchant for the wacky, a symphony concert to play? It's impossible to say for sure, but what we can say is that Fritsch is venturing into the concert field! Until recently, his turbulent and absurd Don Giovanni raged through the Behrenstraße as a libertine on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and if Wagner was to be at the Komische, then it was Fritsch. This season he's chasing the Florentine hat alongside Herbert Grönemeyer.

Together with General Music Director James Gaffigan, Fritsch presents György Ligeti's groundbreaking Poème symphonique for 100 metronomes and takes us into his very personal musical world, from Carl Maria von Weber to Iannis Xenakis, with all its rough edges. Don't worry, he won't sing. Well, probably not. We're excited!

Symphony Concert: Herbert Fritsch gives a Concert

Komische Oper Berlin @Schillertheater

He is supported by Don Basilio, who spins intrigues. Help comes from Figaro, the shrewd barber, who uses cunning and disguises to gain Almaviva access to Rosina. Despite all the obstacles and comic entanglements, the lovers manage to outwit Bartolo in the end and find each other.

Director

Herbert Fritsch

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 9, 2026 - Apr 9, 2027

Il Barbiere di Siviglia · Wiener Staatsoper

Past events

May 26, 2026

Riot! · Bühnen Köln

Jan 17 - Mar 28, 2026

Macbeth · Theater Basel

About

Herbert Fritsch hasn't added a bio