Singer

Seemingly transparent, delicate and almost floating, the music of Peinture propelled Edison Denisov to become one of the leading modernists of what was then the Soviet Union – he formed the USSR’s troika of the non-conformist avantgarde together with Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina, whose works can also be heard at this year’s festival. Vladimir Jurowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin present this far too rarely performed orchestral work at Musikfest Berlin, before unveiling a genuine rediscovery with the Second Symphony by Anatol Vieru, who would have turned 100 this year. The Romanian composer wrote the work in West Berlin in 1973. The evening will be rounded off by the choral symphony The Bells, which Sergei Rachmaninoff considered one of his best works. The Rundfunkchor Berlin will sing alongside an ensemble of internationally renowned soloists.

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

Berliner Philharmoniker

What is worth living and dying for – love, art, freedom? This question lies at the heart of Tosca, uniquely blending musical brilliance with a gripping plot and historical events with archetypes of the operatic stage. Throughout a single fateful night, the audience follows the story of the singer Floria Tosca, the painter Mario Cavaradossi and the unscrupulous police chief Scarpia, a night that ends fatally for all three. The greatest stars of opera history have graced Boleslaw Barlog’s historically accurate production for over 50 years. Joining this chronicle for the first time in this season’s initial run are, among others, Aleksandra Kurzak, who has already sung Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera in London, and Roberto Alagna, who showcases his exceptional tenor in another role at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Antonino Fogliani, one of the most gifted Puccini conductors of our time, will be appearing at Deutsche Oper Berlin for the first time.

Tosca

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Passion, blood and betrayal in Puccini’s tragic thriller.

Rome trembles under Scarpia’s iron fist. Only the diva Tosca dares defy him – but in a corrupt world, love is no match for power. This high-stakes love story, with its sweepingly romantic score, is staged at Glyndebourne for the first time.

The opening cast includes Caitlin Gotimer as Floria Tosca, Matteo Lippi as Mario Cavaradossi and Vladislav Sulimsky as Baron Scarpia, with Robin Ticciati conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The second cast will be conducted by Jordan de Souza and will feature Natalya Romaniw as Floria Tosca, Atalla Ayan as Mario Cavaradossi and Alfred Walker as Baron Scarpia.

Glyndebourne

Rome trembles under Scarpia’s iron fist. Only the diva Tosca dares defy him – but in a corrupt world, love is no match for power. This high-stakes love story, with its sweepingly romantic score, is staged at Glyndebourne for the first time.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Unfortunately, Rigoletto, jester in the court of the Duke, sets his vengeful plan in place while still burning with rage toward his employer. The Duke has taken advantage of Rigoletto’s innocent daughter, and now, Rigoletto has decided that for his transgressions, the Duke must die. A father’s love burns hot.

EPSG:4326

Rigoletto

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

Jerusalem and Babylon at the time of Neubchadnezzar around 578 B.C. were the setting of Verdi’s early work, Nabucco. But the Biblical epic about power, love and religion is certainly more than a mere historical drama that might have served as a Hollywood blockbuster, and which places the most stringent demands on the soloists, chorus and stage machinery. Human conflicts are expressed here in highly emotional music and leave an indelible mark, to the present day, on this first, genuinely major operatic success by composer Giuseppe Verdi. Nabucco, the work with the famous prisoners’ chorus “Va pensiero” (“Fly, thought, on golden wings!”), the best-known hymn to freedom ever composed, is a must – and not just for Verdi fans.

Nabucco

Max-Joseph-Platz

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

The general Otello has achieved everything an ambitious upstart like him could dream of: Respected as the successful commander of the Venetian fleet and loved by his beautiful wife Desdemona, fate seems to have favored him. But one man senses the self-destructive jealousy smouldering behind the façade of the successful man: Jago. Ever since Otello's ensign was passed over for a promotion, he has been driving his superior's downfall with a coolly calculated destructive fury, cleverly feeding Otello's doubts about Desdemona's fidelity...

Otello

German Oper am Rhein

Hatred, jealousy and loss: Sergei Rachmaninoff creates a dark world with powerful colours in his one-act opera Francesca da Rimini. Against this backdrop, the heroine’s brief happiness in love shines all the more brightly. Kirill Petrenko presents the impassioned score with acclaimed soloists in a concert performance. Sofia Gubaidulina’s work The Wrath of God is almost apocalyptically dramatic. And here, too, it is about the hatred that – says the composer – “grows in this world with such force and intensity that it inevitably touches me.” The programme opens with one of the most popular works of American orchestral music: Samuel Barber’s touching and intimate Adagio for strings.

Baritone

Vladislav Sulimsky

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 6, 2026 - Jul 3, 2027

Tosca · Deutsche Oper Berlin

1 - 28 Nov, 2026

Rachmaninoff The Three Operas ·

Past events

Sep 13, 2026

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin · Berliner Philharmoniker

Sep 6, 2026 - Jul 3, 2027

Tosca · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Future and recently performed repertoire

Macbeth in Macbeth by Verdi

Salzburger Festspiele

Jago in Otello by Verdi

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Singer in The Bells by Rachmaninoff

Berliner Philharmoniker

Rigoletto in Rigoletto by Verdi

Palm Beach Opera

Baron Scarpia in Tosca by Puccini

Glyndebourne

Nabucco in Nabucco by Verdi

Bayerische Staatsoper

Lanceotto Malatesta in Francesca da Rimini by Rachmaninoff

Berliner Philharmoniker

About

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