Singer

In 1930 Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht created a new type of grand opera, radical in both, entertainment as well as criticism. With the wit of an epic theater and the musical esprit of old and worn bar songs mixed with music of the avant-garde, Weill and Brecht built the fable of a city in paradise that finally perishes from its own utopias: in the end there is only one mortal sin left – the sin of insolvency. Together with a young ensemble, director Ulrike Schwab explores the one question: Who would still dare to dream of a better future today.

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Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

The Staatstheater Stuttgart

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was certain that the secret to winning was surprisingly simple: “to control oneself every minute, regardless of the ups and downs of the game, and not to fall into passion.” Despite this knowledge, Dostoyevsky gambled away all his money and that of his lover at the roulette tables of German health resorts - gambling was forbidden elsewhere - which brought them both to the brink of destitution. Nevertheless, he capitalized on his experiences of loss: in 1866, he freed himself from an extortionate publishing contract with the novel The Gambler, which he wrote under great pressure. And on top of that, he delivered a study of his own (gambling) obsessions.

The Gambler

A coming of age story and a story of love: The Queen of the Night persuades Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter Pamina from captivity under the high priest Sarastro. Tamino, who instantly falls in love with Pamina, is ready to set off. Involuntarily, bird catcher Papageno is also sent along with Tamino - as companion to the prince. After various trials of initiation, courage and perseverance Tamino and Papageno not only find their station in life as adults, but also each the woman to their hearts' content: Tamino gains the hand of Pamina and Papageno lives happily ever after with his Papagena. We show the legendary Magic Flute of the Komische Oper Berlin, which director Barrie Kosky staged with the theater video art collective "1927" in an astonishing video animation world for the whole family.

The Magic Flute

A material that is as popular as it is ambivalent and evokes countless associations with one word: Casanova! Just one day after Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had launched probably the theater sensation of the Weimar Republic with the Threepenny Opera in what would later become the Berliner Ensemble, director and choreographer Erik Charell followed suit right next door in the predecessor of the Friedrichstadtpalast. The capital’s press was enthusiastic: “Casanova is a great success. It means the resurrection of the operetta!” (Der Montag). The “electrifying music of Johann Strauss” (Berliner Tageblatt) was not only rearranged by Ralph Benatzky, but also electrified – by “the new instrument vibraphone”, as announced in the program booklet for the premiere.

Casanova

After bringing Dmitri Shostakovich’s early opera The Nose to life in a wonderfully grotesque staging, Barrie Kosky now turns his attention to a far more radical work by the Russian composer: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a dark tale of sex and violence featuring one of opera’s most fascinating female characters.

La­dy Mac­beth of Mtsensk

Schiller Theater

“Exuberant, loud and over-the-top: it’s showtime in the orchestra pit“, as one journalist put it after the premiere in December 2024. And the stage design and costumes continue the theme – albeit with slightly ironic opulence. Casanova is the title of a revue operetta by composers Johann Strauss and Ralph Benatzky. Eric Charell, the “revue king“ of his time, staged the world premiere at Großes Schauspielhaus in Berlin in 1928. However, the real hero of the Stuttgart production is not so much Casanova himself, but the character of Barberina, who is embodied on stage by two different artists. She takes over the show and leads us through an evening which centers also on female desire and the lustful play with identities and images of masculinity, femininity and the in-between.

Tenor

Elmar Gilbertsson

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 31 - Mar 14, 2026

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk · Komische Oper Berlin

Apr 2 - Jun 12, 2026

Casanova · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Past events

Apr 16 - May 9, 2025

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Feb 2 - Mar 30, 2025

The Gambler · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Future and recently performed repertoire

Sinowi Borissowitsch Ismailow in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich

Komische Oper Berlin

Fatty in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Weill

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Monostatos in The Magic Flute by Mozart

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Comedian Harmonists in Casanova by Strauss

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Costa in Casanova by Strauss

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Marquis in The Gambler by Prokofiev

Staatsoper Stuttgart

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