Singer

In the middle of his career, Giuseppe Verdi with «created one of his most diverse scores». Embedded in effective ensemble scenes that oscillate between operetta-like, mysterious oracular magic and dark conspiracy drama, Verdi focuses on the private fate of a politician: Riccardo, the governor of Boston, is in love with Amelia, the wife of his best friend and advisor Renato. When the two are discovered during a passionate nocturnal encounter, Renato joins the conspirators and discovers Riccardo's disguise at the masked ball.

A Masked Ball

Zurich Opera House

«La Damnation de Faust» is one of Hector Berlioz's most revolutionary works, a dramatic journey to hell that is part opera, part oratorio. «I neither tried to translate Goethe’s masterpiece nor to imitate it, but simply let it work on me in an effort to grasp its musical content», the composer stated candidly. His multicolored music is imaginary theater, a journey into Faust’s interior, from which the devil Méphistophélès himself seems to emerge.

The Damnation of Faust

Cardillac cannot part with his art. The jeweler must kill anyone who buys jewelry from him. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella «Das Fräulein von Scuderi», one of the first German detective stories, served as source material for Paul Hindemith. His 1926 opera is a milestone in the development of music theater. A century years after its premiere, theater and filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó stages this thriller about obsessions, control, and self-alienation. 

Cardillac

This opera’s 1875 premiere in Paris caused a scandal, after the title character’s anarchic nature and lustful femininity disturbed the bourgeois audience’s sensibilities. But Bizet’s opera soon began its triumphal march, becoming a myth of modern times. To this day, «Carmen» fascinates audiences with its relentless drama and the elemental power of its melodies. Andreas Homoki’s production pays homage to the place where the opera was created, the Opéra comique in Paris. 

Carmen

The «Japanese tragedy» by Giacomo Puccini shows how the American naval officer Pinkerton embraces Japanese culture, marrying Cio-Cio-San, a young geisha, for the duration of his stay. When he later returns with his «real» wife to take the child he had with Cio-Cio-San back to his homeland, the young woman is left with only one way out. With his ambitious composition, Puccini combined Eastern and Western motifs, producing one of his most successful operas at the start of the 20th century. Director Ted Huffman brings the opera to the stage in stunningly beautiful images and with great narrative tension.

Madama Butterfly

War, flight, hatred and revenge characterize the grand portrait that Giuseppe Verdi created in «La forza del destino». Amid this unpredictable interplay of forces, Leonora and Alvaro search for each other, fight for their love, experience persecution, find refuge in faith, and are crushed by inexorable fate. Director Valentina Carrascothe Catalan, who was a member of the Catalan theater collective La Fura dels Baus, uses Verdi’s monumental scenes as an opportunity to question the values of war and peace in the 21st century, creating a dystopian fantasy. Anna Netrebko returns to Zurich as Leonora. General Music Director Gianandrea Noseda is on the podium.

The strength of destiny

Opéra-fantastique in five acts by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
Libretto by Jules Paul Barbier after the drame fantastique of the same name
by Barbier and Michel Florentin Carré

EPSG:4326

Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Opernhaus Zürich

Melodrama in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
After Victor Hugo’s play «Le Roi s’amuse»

Rigoletto

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

Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig

Tragedia giapponese in two acts by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
after Pierre Loti, John Luther Long and David Belasco

«You will die! A friend will kill you.» – The scene with the fortune teller Ulrica, who prophesies that Count Riccardo will soon meet his end, is just one of many effective scenes in Verdi’s opera Un ballo in maschera. Riccardo doesn’t believe Ulrica, and laughs – but a short while later he is murdered by his best friend Renato during a masked ball. Comedy and horror are also closely linked musically in this score from Verdi’s middle creative phase. The story of an idle, politically weak ruler who is killed at a masked ball is based on the historical case of Gustav III of Sweden. However, Verdi was less interested in historical details than in the effective dramaturgy offered by the triangular constellation between Riccardo, his best friend Renato and his wife Amelia. The emotional drama that takes place in the middle act between Riccardo and his friend's wife is one of the most sensual love scenes Verdi ever wrote – and leads to the fiercest jealousy from Renato, who then joins a gang of conspirators. Verdi wanted to stage his new opera – originally with King Gustav as the title figure – in Naples, but the subject matter was targeted by censors. Showing a regicide on stage was simply impossible in the politically turbulent Italy of the 19th century. In the end, the opera was staged in Rome in 1859, in a historically altered setting. General Music Director Gianandrea Noseda and stage director Adele Thomas devote themselves to Verdi’s score of contrasts, which oscillates between masquerade frivolity and deeply felt melodrama. Tenor Charles Castronovo, who has already sung this role at the New York Met, is Riccardo. Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi makes her debut as Amelia.

Un ballo in Maschera

Zurich Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s stunning opera, A Masked Ball, filled with desire, treachery and political peril.

Verdi’s A Masked Ball

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

Rachmaninoff The Three Operas

plendor and misery lie close together in the life of the courtesan Violetta Valéry. Celebrated as an enigmatic beauty at lavish Parisian parties, she is forced to abandon her great love for Alfredo due to bourgeois conventions. With this opera about a "whore," as Giuseppe Verdi himself called her, he shocked the audiences of his time. His sharp critique is directed against the hypocritical practices of society, while he imbues Violetta herself, on her path of suffering, with the aura of a saint. With keen psychological insight, director Christof Loy draws inspiration from the aesthetics of Verdi's era. Under the direction of Joana Mallwitz, the young Spanish soprano Marina Monzó makes her debut in the title role.

La traviata

A gold rush camp in California: here, only the strongest prevail. Minnie's Bar becomes a refuge for a society without firm social norms. When Minnie falls in love with the bandit Johnson, the fragile order finally crumbles. In her production of Giacomo Puccini's Western opera, director Lydia Steier paints a picture of a community marked by isolation and violence, where the spiral of brutality turns relentlessly. Marco Armiliato conducts the richly textured score. Anja Kampe, Jonas Kaufmann, and Tomasz Konieczny star in the leading roles.

La fanciulla del west

The biblical story of Samson and Delilah, set in ancient Gaza, illustrates how closely emotions and politics have always been intertwined. To break the power of the Hebrews, the priestess Delilah seeks to uncover the secret of Samson's strength and feigns love for him. But Samson's revenge is terrible when he brings down the temple of Delilah's people, killing himself in the process. Among the most poignant moments in Camille Saint-Saëns' most successful opera is Delilah's seduction scene, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" (My heart opens to your voice). Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb and tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac make their stage debuts in the title roles under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda. Evgeny Titov, who skillfully combines sensuality with psychological depth in his work, directs.

Samson and Delilah

Rodolfo, a young, unsuccessful writer, is seeking inspiration when a young woman unexpectedly appears on his doorstep: Mimì only wants to relight her extinguished candle, but their encounter unfolds one of the most moving love stories in operatic literature. Director Ole Anders Tandberg presents "La bohème" as a poetic fantasy about four provincial artists who dream of great success and suddenly find themselves immersed in the Parisian artistic myth. Giacomo Puccini's score unites some of his most famous arias and touches the audience with undiminished emotional power. Anna Netrebko will sing the role of Mimì in several performances.

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Stanislav Vorobyov

Events

Upcoming events

26 - 30 Aug, 2026

Verdi’s A Masked Ball · Edinburgh International Festival

1 - 28 Nov, 2026

Rachmaninoff The Three Operas ·

Dec 20, 2026 - Jan 23, 2027

La traviata · Opernhaus Zürich

Feb 25 - Apr 16, 2027

La fanciulla del west · Opernhaus Zürich

Jun 13 - Jul 9, 2027

Samson and Delilah · Opernhaus Zürich

Past events

May 22 - Jun 13, 2026

A Masked Ball · Opernhaus Zürich

10 - 17 May, 2026

The Damnation of Faust · Opernhaus Zürich

Future and recently performed repertoire

Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata by Verdi

Opernhaus Zürich

Abimelech in Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saëns

Opernhaus Zürich

Colline in La bohème by Puccini

Opernhaus Zürich

Onkel Bonze in Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Opernhaus Zürich

Ashby in La Fanciulla del West by Puccini

Opernhaus Zürich

Zuniga in Carmen by Bizet

Opernhaus Zürich

Il Marchese di Calatrava in The Strength of Destiny by Verdi

Opernhaus Zürich

The gold dealer in Cardillac by Hindemith

Opernhaus Zürich

Mephistopheles in The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz

Opernhaus Zürich

Tom in A Masked Ball by Verdi

Opernhaus Zürich

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