Lighting Designer

“Blame it on the champagne, tra la la la la !” That’s the half-truth that the protagonists in Johann Strauss’s THE BAT sign up to at the end of a drink-fuelled night of mistaken identities and erotic escapades. But alcohol is only partly to blame; the confusion is largely due to the wiles of the humiliated Dr Falke, who was once exposed to small-town ridicule dressed in the costume of a bat and is now seizing his chance to avenge himself on his ‘good pal’, bon vivant Gabriel von Eisenstein. And so it is that the maid disguises herself as an actress, the wife as a Hungarian countess and Eisenstein himself as a French marquess and off they trot to Prince Orlofsky’s masked ball. That they end up bewailing their fate in jail early the next morning is less down to champagne than to the natural course of events. In THE BAT Johann Strauss pulled off a work that proved to be the prototypical Viennese operetta, bursting with waltzes and polkas and oozing wicked irony. Inspired by Offenbach’s opéras buffes from Paris, Strauss’s work was merciless in the way it held up a mirror to the bourgeois salon-going public - and many audience members recognised themselves in the absurd antics onstage.

Die Fledermaus

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Powerful bars make it clear right from the start: «Tosca» is an operatic thriller about desire, betrayal, and abuse of power. With the title heroine, Puccini created a character who dedicated her entire life to the stage. Robert Carsen stages an enigmatic play about appearances and reality, theater and truth, while keeping pace with suspense-packed plot. Under the musical direction of Marco Armiliato, the dramatic triumvirate is made up of Sonya Yoncheva in the title role, Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi, and Bryn Terfel in the role of Scarpia.

Tosca

Zurich Opera House

“How ice-cold is this little hand” – a hand held by the poet Rodolfo in the darkness of his artists’ commune! The ice-cold hand belongs to the seamstress Mimì – with whom he proceeds to throw himself into the Christmas season in Paris. Only a few months later, though, she finds living with Rodolfo torturous. It is not jealousy, however, which explains Rodolfo’s behaviour: he knows that Mimì will not last the year. "La Bohème" was based on Henri Murger’s extremely successful novel "Les scènes de la vie de bohème", which had entranced Puccini when he first read it. His wish to set the tale to music was so strong that he even risked ruining his friendship with Ruggero Leoncavallo, who was also working on a opera version of it. Today, the opera premiered in 1896 is considered one of the most popular stage works of all times – thanks to an overabundance of melodies and Puccini’s genius for character portraits.

EPSG:4326

La Bohème

Staatsoper Hamburg

Scarpia, Rome’s chief of police, desires Tosca. Since her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, is among the government’s political enemies, Scarpia has him imprisoned. He orders Cavaradossi’s execution and hopes to force Tosca into granting him one night with her, in exchange for Cavaradossi’s release. She, however, thwarts his plans…

Vincenzo Bellini's opera »La sonnambula«, which premiered in Milan in 1831, is considered to be his most important work, alongside »Norma«, which was released just six months later. The ›semiseria‹, composed in an elegiac, soft style, shows the idyll of a remote Alpine village in which superstition and backwardness almost cost the young orphan Amina her happiness in life, because Amina sleepwalks. So she ends up in the room of a strange man at night, is accused of infidelity by her lover Elvino and left. Only Rodolfo, the apparent seducer and none other than the deceased count's son who has returned home, can use his knowledge to explain the phenomenon, confirm Amina's innocence and lead the story to its happy ending. Director Rolando Villazón stages Amina's story as an escape from the confines of her village to another

La sonnambula (The Sleepwalker)

Semper Opera Dresden

Jean-Philippe Rameau's ballet opera »Platée« is one of the most unusual music theater works of the 18th century. The comedy, which premiered in 1745, tells the story of the nymph Platée, who believes that every man must fall in love with her immediately. The supreme god Jupiter takes advantage of Platée's need for love: in order to convince his own wife Juno of his loyalty, he stages his absurd marriage to the nymph from the swamp. In »Platée«, Rameau parodies the great French opera and at the same time presents the court society of his time as a collection of unscrupulous opportunists. His music with its onomatopoeic effects, rousing dances and unusual sounds is among the best that this composer has written. In Dresden, where »Platée« can be experienced for the first time, star tenor Rolando Villazón has re-staged the work. The conductor Paul Agnew of the French baroque ensemble "Les Arts Florissants" has appeared on stage as a singer countless times as a platée.

Platée (Platea)

Semperoper Dresden

He commands a world empire and yet he is deeply unsettled. Philip II of Spain not only fears losing command but also feels betrayed and deserted by his wife Elizabeth von Valois: she and his son Carlo are in love. Over all this hangs the threatening shadow of the Inquisition. In vain, King Philip seeks trust in a hostile world.

Lighting Designer

Davy Cunningham

Events

Upcoming events

5 - 26 Jun, 2026

Don Carlo · Staatsoper Berlin

Past events

Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026

Die Fledermaus · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Sep 28 - Oct 19, 2025

Tosca · Opernhaus Zürich

About

Davy Cunningham hasn't added a bio