There are few operas, which from the very first bar endure such intense pressure, few in which the temperature swings from ice-cold calculation to overheating in mere seconds. And scarcely any in which private entanglement and personal tragedy are so interwoven with political attitudes in historical accuracy. Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca has electrified audiences since its world premiere. The shock wave emitted by the opera was so strong that decades later many reactions still tend to point to the bewilderment and overpowering of those affected rather than the qualities of the piece itself and its love triangle surrounding the singer Floria Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi and the chief of police Baron Scarpia. The artistic world of the protagonist couple, Tosca and Cavaradossi, is no colouristic ingredient here, but rather defines the profile of its characters – it justifies Tosca’s eccentricity, just as it does Cavaradossi’s liberality and also explains the singer’s pronounced self-confidence: The heroine of the stage becomes a heroine in real life. Scarpia’s appearance must also be understood as the emergence of his unleashed totalitarian power, and his sexual sadism still today as one of the truly scandalous moments of opera literature. The historical detail is certainly no staffage, but rather forms the, “precondition of the conflict between the representatives of two opposing social systems” (Norbert Christen) in a time of crisis. With his mish-mash of musical recognition motifs, which, with the exception of the rigid Scarpia chords, sensitively adjust to the situations, Puccini achieves a new dimension of through-composed operatic structure – in the intensive cohesion of the score, he nevertheless creates islands in which reflection compacts itself into moments of the highest possible arioso intensity.

TOSCA

Max-Joseph-Platz

"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

For Elina Makropoulos, this dream becomes reality in an involuntary and paradoxical experience. Long ago, her alchemist father tested an elixir of life on her. Since then, she has traveled throughout Europe, constantly changing her identity and her lover. Now 337 years old, an opera singer known as Emilia Marty, she finds herself embroiled in an inheritance dispute. While her beauty and undiminished voice still captivate, her sole objective is to rediscover the formula for the elixir, whose effects are threatening to fade. But is eternal life truly an enviable destiny?

The Makropoulos Affair

Lille Opera

Colin delights his friends with dishes prepared by his cook Nicolas, invents a pianocktail to match drinks to melodies, and dreams of true love. When Chloé enters his life, happiness seems complete. But a sinister water lily slowly grows in the young woman's lung.

Foam of the Daze

Opéra de Lille

Oedipus confronts the secrets of the oracle, Macbeth confronts the prophecies of the witches: a sudden utterance from another world—and a few words change an entire life. The moira is revealed. While Oedipus seeks to flee the tragic fate promised to him, a twofold process is triggered in Macbeth. First, he reacts to the announcement that he will soon become king by attempting to ascend to the promised heights and acts accordingly: He kills. Having attained dominion and power, he then defies the second part of the prophecy: He kills again. Afterward, he becomes the plaything of his madness, his fear, his moral fall: He kills again and again.

Macbeth

Great Festival House

“Chi è morto, voi o il vecchio?,” jokes the servant Leporello cryptically, after Don Giovanni has murdered “Il Commendatore”. The story of the “punished debauchee” has long since been the stuff of myth. Don Giovanni plays out in a field of tension between heaven and hell, as opposites collide in this dramma giocoso, set among amorous desires and the fall of angels. In this kaleidoscope of situations and characters, there is an absolute absence of clarity, evident alone in the fact that each of these characters lies – either to each other or to themselves. The timeless comedy motifs of role and dress change assume an oppressive ambiguity here. The master of transformation Don Giovanni, this polyerotic hedonist, is hard to fathom. In endless metamorphoses, he appears just as suddenly as he then immediately disappears again. The other characters know – they need him, as a mirror of themselves. And so for Leporello it becomes clear after his master’s death that Don Giovanni leads an eternal life and will affect ours again and again. This Don Giovanni now completes the Da Ponte cycle. “Faust” winner David Hermann stages at the Bayerische Staatsoper for the first time. General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski conducts the piece, in which Mozart threw open the doors to a new world, from which there can be no return.

Don Giovanni

Few figures in world literature embody so many tragic contradictions: Otello is both perpetrator and victim, hunter and prey – the bloodthirsty murderer of his beloved Desdemona, yet also at the mercy of the demonic manipulation of his secret adversary, Iago. Verdi’s operatic version further intensifies the gruesome outcome, as the scheming villain escapes. Kornél Mundruczó makes his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin with this new production of Otello. His meteoric career in the film industry has garnered him awards at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals and success on Netflix. Since Aviel Cahn discovered him for musical theatre with Herzog Blaubart/Winterreise in 2013, the internationally acclaimed director has increasingly turned his attention to opera. His psychedelic imagery and exceptional integration of film lend new impetus to the genre and are ideally suited to bringing us closer to the delusional inner world of the character Otello: Mundruczó leads us directly into the protagonist’s psychological abyss. When Verdi began his second Shakespearean setting, he had not dedicated himself to a major new composition for over ten years. The collaboration with Arrigo Boito resulted in a work that occupies a special place in Verdi’s oeuvre. The orchestra gains importance for characterisation and atmospheric development, becoming a fundamental driving force of the action. On the podium is Stefano Montanari, a specialist in early Italian opera; he demonstrated his sensitivity to Verdi’s late works with a fresh approach in a celebrated Otello at the Stuttgart State Opera. With the role of Otello, which demands everything from heroic radiance to lyrical tenderness and even violent outbursts beyond mere beauty of sound, Verdi shattered the conventions of traditional vocal categories. Najmiddin Mavlyanov, in demand worldwide for dramatic tenor roles in the Italian and Russian repertoire, brings all of this to the role. Alongside him, Ruzan Mantashyan makes her debut as Desdemona. Luca Micheletti is playing Iago for the first time outside his native Italy.

Felice Ross

Events

Upcoming events

Apr 16 - May 2, 2027

Otello · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Past events

6 - 12 Apr, 2026

TOSCA · Bayerische Staatsoper

Feb 23 - Mar 5, 2026

Salome · Bayerische Staatsoper

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