The Northern Lights evening takes you on a musical journey to Scandinavia, with works by Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, but also by composers less well known in this country, such as Hugo Alfvén and Ture Rangström.

 Semper Soirée – Northern Lights

Semperoper Dresden

What would a child’s room say if it could talk? A boy goes on the rampage because he doesn’t want to do his homework; his mother, of course, blows her top. When the child vandalises his room and even torments his beloved cat, things take a surprising turn: suddenly, the mistreated furniture, cups, books and animals start to speak! And the child finds himself in a world in which he is forced to think about others.

Das Kind und der Zauberspuk / L’enfant et les sortilèges

Waltzes, polkas, blissful operetta charm, sparkling like the sound of champagne: this is what the Viennese masters from the great Strauss family stand for, as does Franz Lehár. Atmospheric opera moments by contemporary Giacomo Puccini introduce the gala before the imaginary curtain rises to forays into operetta classics such as "The Merry Widow," "Giuditta," and "The Bat." Waltzes and lively polkas provide the furious finale. The star guest is the Polish soprano Magdalena Lucjan, who studied in Vienna and thus brings the flair of the Danube metropolis directly to the Rhine.

EPSG:4326

New Year's Splendor - Strauss & Puccini

Museum Ludwig

Waltzes, polkas, blissful operetta charm, sparkling like the sound of champagne: this is what the Viennese masters from the great Strauss family stand for, as does Franz Lehár. Atmospheric opera moments by contemporary Giacomo Puccini introduce the gala before the imaginary curtain rises to forays into operetta classics such as "The Merry Widow", "Giuditta" and "The Bat". Waltzes and lively polkas then provide the furious finale. The star guest is the Polish soprano Magdalena Lucjan, who studied in Vienna and thus brings the flair of the Danube metropolis directly to the Rhine.

Cologne Philharmonie

WDR Happy Hour - Vienna Furioso

Philharmonic Essen

If you could change the world right now, what would you do? „Change the world!“ by Mart van Berckel and Pedro Beriso, showing at Semper Zwei, provides a great opportunity to reflect on this and a whole host of other questions. The production aims to transport the audience to the day after a revolution: in a room full of empty chairs (the remnants of barricades), four singers meet after devastating events to reflect, to mourn and to hope … and also to think of a way forward. But they are not alone. They are joined by spoken-word artist Amara van der Elst as a figure who is simultaneously both inside and outside events. According to Mart van Berckel: “Like a presenter or a storyteller, she is responsible for what happens on stage; she can press ‘play’ or ‘pause’, rewind or fast-forward. She’s the motor driving the performance.” She addresses the audience directly with challenging texts, constantly throwing up questions that demand an answer. Amara van der Elst partly drew these questions from the lyrics of the songs which, like a collage, were compiled for this production. The music from both the 19th and 20th centuries runs from Ludwig van Beethoven to Hanns Eisler. Alongside a heady sense of revolutionary tension, the production creates space for personal reflection. „Change the world!“ That’s not a challenge but rather an invitation to tackle difficult questions.

Ändere die Welt!

Prince Tamino is being pursued by a wild serpent. At the last minute, he is saved by three mysterious ladies who have been sent by the queen of the night. When the bird catcher Papageno appears and boasts about the heroic deed they punish him. In contrast, they give the prince a portrait of Pamina, the daughter of the queen who is being held captive by the ruler of the temple of the sun, Sarastro. Tamino falls in love with her. The queen appears in person and orders him to rescue Pamina together with Papageno. A magic flute will protect him from any danger whilst a reluctant Papageno is given magic bells. Guided by three young boys, they set off on their way to Sarastro’s temple. Whilst the temple guards tell Tamino that Sarastro is not the evil tyrant that the queen has depicted, Papageno finds Pamino and tries to flee with her. With the help of the chimes, he is able to distract her guard Monostatos although his efforts are scuppered by the appearance of Sarastro. Papageno, Pamina and Tamino have to stay in Sarastro’s kingdom as Sarastro has something greater planned for Tamino: just as he has taken Pamina into his kingdom to protect her from her mother, he plans to get Tamino into his circle of insiders of the sun temple and, in this way, prepare him for future tasks.

Die Zauberflöte / The Magic Flute

Isn't it fortunate for us that Schumann didn't have one with opera? How many lieder, expressions of his sensitivity and poetic affinities, were thus born in place of the conventions of theater? Le Paradis et la Péri, a miracle of Schumannian atypicality, is a secular oratorio, even if the term seems ill-suited to express the dazzling visions of angels, elves, and paradise lost that inspire this hour and forty minutes of music. Dreamlike music and a dreamlike set led by the future musical director of the National, Philippe Jordan.

Paradise and the Peri / Philippe Jordan

Cité de la Musique

If you could change the world right now, what would you do? Change the world! by Mart van Berckel and Pedro Beriso, showing at Semper Zwei, provides a great opportunity to reflect on this and a whole host of other questions. The production aims to transport the audience to the day after a revolution: in a room full of empty chairs (the remnants of barricades), four singers meet after devastating events to reflect, to mourn and to hope … and also to think of a way forward. But they are not alone. They are joined by spoken-word artist Amara van der Elst as a figure who is simultaneously both inside and outside events. According to Mart van Berckel: “Like a presenter or a storyteller, she is responsible for what happens on stage; she can press ‘play’ or ‘pause’, rewind or fast-forward. She’s the motor driving the performance.” She addresses the audience directly with challenging texts, constantly throwing up questions that demand an answer. Amara van der Elst partly drew these questions from the lyrics of the songs which, like a collage, were compiled for this production. The music from both the 19th and 20th centuries runs from Ludwig van Beethoven to Hanns Eisler. Alongside a heady sense of revolutionary tension, the production creates space for personal reflection. Change the world! That’s not a challenge but rather an invitation to tackle difficult questions.

Semper Zwei

Christmas Eve, 1871. In Cairo’s newly built opera house, the curtain rises on the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. This is a turning point in cultural history, when an occidental passion for exoticism and an oriental interest in European high culture come together to create great art. Very few works of opera have achieved such widespread popularity. And rightly so: with its thrilling musical effects, exotic sounds and tableaux, the colourful instrumentation and monumental scenes alternating with moments of great intimacy, Aida is a true musical and dramatic treasure trove. And that’s not all. Through the tragic love affair between the Ethiopian princess Aida and the Egyptian army commander Radamès, torn between the interests of state, church and family, Giuseppe Verdi reflects on the crisis-ridden plight of the modern individual, ending with a highly moving plea for the utopian power of love.

Magdalena Lucjan

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 23, 2026

Paradise and the Peri / Philippe Jordan · Orchestre National de France

Mar 15 - Apr 26, 2026

Das Kind und der Zauberspuk / L’enfant et les sortilèges · Semperoper Dresden

2 - 12 May, 2026

Ändere die Welt! · Semperoper Dresden

11 - 28 Jun, 2026

Aida · Semperoper Dresden

Past events

Nov 2, 2025

Semper Soirée – Northern Lights · Semperoper Dresden

9 - 23 Feb, 2025

Das Kind und der Zauberspuk / L’enfant et les sortilèges · Semperoper Dresden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Turandot by Puccini

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Die Fledermaus by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Voices of Spring by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in O mio babbino caro by Puccini

Kölner Philharmonie

A temple singer in Aida by Verdi

Semperoper Dresden

The Nightingale · The Princess in L'enfant et les sortilèges by Ravel

Semperoper Dresden

Singer in Giuditta by Lehár

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Die Libelle by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Vilja Song by Lehár

Kölner Philharmonie

A Mother in Ändere die Welt! by Beriso

Semperoper Dresden

Singer in Under Thunder and Lightning by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Quando m'en vo by Puccini

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in Furioso Polka by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in On the Hunt by Strauss

Kölner Philharmonie

Singer in In the Krapfenwald'l by Jr.

WDR Sinfonieorchester

Singer in Voices of Spring by Jr.

WDR Sinfonieorchester

Singer in Paradise and the Peri by Schumann

Orchestre National de France

About

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