Singer

The composer Engelbert Humperdinck based his work on the most famous of all fairy tales. The operatic version of the story of the siblings Hänsel and Gretel, who lose their way in the forest and nearly fall victim to the Knusperhexe, or witch, has always inspired audiences. The music takes well-known folk melodies and combines them with large, shimmering soundscapes that move between dream and reality, and between fears and fantasies. Zurich-born director Thom Luz has received numerous awards for his theater work. With «Hansel and Gretel», he makes his long-awaited opera debut, and unleashes the poetic power of theatrical magic. Lithuanian conductor Giedrė Šlekytė musically directs.

Hansel and Gretel

Zurich Opera House

When Strauss and Hofmannsthal wrote «Der Rosenkavalier» – setting it in an imaginary Rococo Vienna and yet closely linked to the decadent fin de siècle – they created a profound social comedy. It is not without melancholy that the Marschallin lets her young lover Octavian go when he falls head over heels with Sophie, who hails from Faninal’s bourgeois household. As voluptuous as Strauss' score is, it contains tender moments of dream and melancholy. Director Lydia Steier stages Strauss’ opera according to an aesthetic concept by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. Diana Damrau sings the Marschallin. 

Der Rosenkavalier

Music theater for children from age 7 by Samuel Penderbayne (*1989)
Libretto by Christian Schönfelder after Christine Nöstlinger
Commissioned by the Opernhaus Zürich

EPSG:4326

Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig

Opernhaus Zürich

Drame-lyrique in 5 acts by Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
after the tragedy by William Shakespeare

Roméo et Juliette

Opera buffa in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

Le nozze di Figaro

Opera in two acts by Jonathan Dove (*1959) for children from age 7 and up and the eternally young
based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, Libretto by Peter Lund
Commission of the Opernhaus Zürich

In 80 Tagen um die Welt

Although she is surrounded by many admirers, Arabella dreams only of the «right one». She finds him in Mandryka, the Croatian landowner. Opera history’s final idealized marriage of love was written on the precipice of disaster: The opera dates to a time of deep social insecurity. The operetta-like tone of Strauss’ «Lyrischer Komödie» is strangely fractured. When it premiered in Dresden in 1933, it was instrumentalized by the Nazis for propaganda purposes. 

Unknown

Irène Friedli

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 16, 2025 - Jan 31, 2026

Hansel and Gretel · Opernhaus Zürich

14 - 28 Apr, 2026

Arabella · Opernhaus Zürich

Past events

Nov 16, 2025 - Jan 31, 2026

Hansel and Gretel · Opernhaus Zürich

Sep 21 - Oct 26, 2025

Der Rosenkavalier · Opernhaus Zürich

Future and recently performed repertoire

Gertrude/Crunchy Witch in Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck

Opernhaus Zürich

A card server in Arabella by Strauss

Opernhaus Zürich

Annina in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss

Opernhaus Zürich

About

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