Es war eine kleine Sensation. Im Februar 2024 wurde in den Themenkonzerten – vorbereitend auf die Neuinszenierung von Mieczysław Weinbergs Oper Die Passagierin – eine andere, äußerst selten gespielte Oper dieses Komponisten aufgeführt: seine schwarze Komödie Lady Magnesia, pointiert in Szene gesetzt von Theresa Maria Schlichtherle in der Firmenzentrale von Brainlab. Die eigentlich als einmalige Vorstellung geplante Produktion fand beim Publikum so großen Anklang, dass sie nun weitere drei Mal auf dem Spielplan erscheint.

Lady Magnesia

Brainlab

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

Semperoper Dresden

The wedding of the servant couple Figaro and Susanna is imminent, and everything could be so wonderful, if it weren’t for the lecherous Count Almaviva, who has been stalking Susanna for some time, as well as the vengeful Doctor Bartolo and his housekeeper Marcellina, who all wish to prevent the wedding. After numerous twists and turns, Figaro and Susanna, with the help of the Countess and thanks to an ingenious plan of revenge, finally succeed in thwarting Almaviva using his own art of seduction so that, in the end, all couples are reunited. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s „The Marriage of Figaro“, which premiered at Vienna’s Hoftheater in 1786, is the first of the three Mozart-da Ponte operas. Despite its quick-fire comedic action, the work foreshadows some of the radical ideas of the French Revolution. In his staging, director Johannes Erath takes the audience on a journey through the different epochs of theatrical history from Commedia dell’arte to the modern age.

Le nozze di Figaro

Lucia Ashton falls in love with her family’s mortal enemy, Edgardo, and the young couple pledge eternal fidelity. However, Lucia’s brother Enrico is intent on marrying her off to a rich heir. When Lucia finally believes herself entirely abandoned and alone, with even her beloved Edgardo scorning and insulting her, she murders her unwanted husband on their wedding night. With her family grieving at her perceived insanity, Lucia sees this terrible act as a form of liberation, believing herself close to achieving happiness with her lover. Based on the bestselling novel by Sir Walter Scott, »Lucia di Lammermoor« pearl of bel canto opera. Composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835, it is a huge challenge for every singer, both musically and dramatically. In his staging for Dresden, Dietrich W. Hilsdorf illuminates the psychological states of the protagonists by focusing on the central human relationships. The ghostly sounds of the glass harmonica underscore the sensitive inner world of an oppressed woman in her fight against the rest of the world.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Based on Voltaire’s satire „Candide ou l’optimisme“, Leonard Bernstein created a masterpiece of modern operetta about the madness of the world. In a witty and lively mixture of opera, musical and revue, he not only parodies traditional dance forms such as the gavotte, mazurka, polka and waltz, but also slyly sprinkles the score with the operatic quotations.

Candide

It is a game of life and death initiated by the elusive Princess Turandot: each suitor for her hand must solve three riddles. Failure means execution. And so far, no prince has been able to win the great prize. But then a stranger arrives in the kingdom of Turandot, Prince Calaf, who is determined to take on the challenge. When he solves the riddles and claims the princess in marriage as agreed, he encounters a frightened woman who refuses to wed the stranger – and now the princess becomes the tortured one, for she must find out the prince’s name in order to keep her freedom. Unfinished at his death, Giacomo Puccini’s final opera was premiered as a fragment in 1926. This is a multi-layered masterpiece of great emotional intensity, musical brilliance and unique in its use of exotic Chinese melody. French stage director Marie-Eve Signeyrole makes her Semperoper debut with this operatic thriller.

Simeon Esper

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 28 - Dec 1, 2024

Lady Magnesia · Bayerische Staatsoper

9 - 23 Feb, 2025

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

20 - 29 Mar, 2025

Le nozze di Figaro · Semperoper Dresden

Apr 20 - May 8, 2025

Lucia di Lammermoor · Semperoper Dresden

11 - 18 May, 2025

Candide · Semperoper Dresden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Cosmetic Merchant · Inquisitor I · Charles Edward in Candide by Bernstein

Semperoper Dresden

Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart

Semperoper Dresden

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