Few operas have more to say about remaining true (to yourself) in matters of art and love than Ariadne auf Naxos: should you cling to the one you love unconditionally, or remain open to new loves?

Ariadne auf Naxos

Bebelplatz

In masks and costumes, the characters in Verdi’s opera try to conceal their identities or to construct alternative ones. The powerholder Riccardo does so in order to avoid those plotting against him, his friend Renato to escape unrecognized, Renato’s wife Amelia to hide her love for Riccardo from her husband, the guests at the masked ball to enjoy playing with beautiful appearances.

Un ballo in maschera

The Viennese aristocracy are no strangers to family feuds: boorish Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau interrupts the morning tête-à-tête between his cousin, the Marschallin, and her young lover Octavian, to ask for her help with his wedding plans, which are steered more by financial gain than love. Ochs does not suspect that Octavian himself, who is chosen to deliver the engagement rose, will eventually fall in love with the bride.

Der Rosenkavalier

Lieutenant Pinkerton has fallen in love with the geisha Cio-Cio-San, known as Madama Butterfly, and wants to marry her according to Japanese custom without entering into a permanent relationship. But Butterfly truly loves Pinkerton and has a child by him. For years she waits in vain for the lieutenant to return. When Pinkerton does return, he arrives with his new American wife to pick up the child, and Butterfly stabs herself with a dagger.

Madama Butterfly

Modest Mussorgsky’s national folk drama centres on a grim episode of late 17th-century Russian history. Ivan Khovansky, leader of the musketeer corps (streltsy), and his son Andrei, are planning a conspiracy, but the ambitious Prince Vasily Golitsyn, the boyar Shaklovity and cleric Dosifey also get involved in the struggle for power.

Khovanshchina

The setting is Carthage, in ancient times: the hero Aeneas flees from burning Troy and arrives in North Africa via the Mediterranean Sea with his fleet of ships, where he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They are lovestruck – and yet fail to bond because of fate’s intervention. Aeneas continues on his journey to form a new kingdom in Italy, while the abandoned Dido is left no alternative but to stay.

Dido & Aeneas

The will to resist the Roman occupiers is growing among the Galls, and Norma should finally give the sign for an uprising against the oppressor in the name of the god of war. But she hesitates due to a conflict of conscience: despite her vow of chastity, Norma has two children, hidden from the public, fathered by the Roman Pollione. When she finds out that Pollione loves the novice Adalgisa and wants to run away with her, her situation seems hopeless. If she reveals her double life, she risks not only her own standing, but that of her children as well.

Norma

Anknüpfend an die Premiere von György Kurtágs Oper Fin de partie (nach dem Drama von Samuel Beckett), die im Januar 2025 in der Staatsoper Unter den Linden stattfindet, widmen sich Dirigent Finnegan Downie Dear und die Staatskapelle einem weiteren Werk dieses bedeutenden ungarischen Komponisten. In What is the word wird der gesamte Pierre Boulez Saal zur Spielfläche für diese faszinierende Komposition mit Worten Samuel Becketts von 1990/91. Eingerahmt wird das Werk mit Musik von Béla Bartók und Franz Schubert, die in besonderer Weise klassische Formen reflektieren. Schuberts 5. Sinfonie knüpft an die große Tradition der Wiener Klassik an.

Konzert im Pierre Boulez Saal

Pierre Boulez Saal

It was his first great success, in a sense, his breakthrough: Nabucco. Premiered at Milan’s Scala in the spring of 1842, this work marks the start of the brilliant career of Giuseppe Verdi, who would become the leading Italian opera composer, going virtually unrivalled for decades. Set in biblical times in Jerusalem and Babylon, Nabucco deals with the fates of two peoples and cultures, but also the arrogance of the protagonist, who with an inflated sense of self-importance declares himself a god, only then to descend into madness. Tableaux with ceremonial gestures and poignant music, such as the famous chorus “Va pensiero” sung by the imprisoned Hebrews, are combined with scenes of intense expression, filled with drama and passion.

Nabucco

Unter den Linden & Bebelplatz

The first premiere of the season on the State Opera stage will be Jacques Offenbach's opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann – and the Opera Children's Orchestra will also be performing this imaginative music. Excerpts from Offenbach's last work will be heard. The program will be complemented by music by other great French musical theater composers of the 19th century.

Concert Opera Children's Orchestra

He commands a world empire and yet he is deeply unsettled. Philip II of Spain not only fears losing command but also feels betrayed and deserted by his wife Elizabeth von Valois: she and his son Carlo are in love. Over all this hangs the threatening shadow of the Inquisition. In vain, King Philip seeks trust in a hostile world.

Junho Hwang

Events

Upcoming events

May 23, 2026

Nabucco · Staatsoper Berlin

4 - 6 Jun, 2026

Concert Opera Children's Orchestra · Staatskapelle Berlin

5 - 26 Jun, 2026

Don Carlo · Staatsoper Berlin

Past events

17 - 23 Apr, 2026

Ariadne auf Naxos · Staatsoper Berlin

Mar 29 - Apr 6, 2026

Un ballo in maschera · Staatsoper Berlin

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Faust by Gounod

Staatskapelle Berlin

Singer in Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach

Staatskapelle Berlin

Ein Richter in Un ballo in maschera by Verdi

Staatsoper Berlin

Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss

Staatsoper Berlin

Goro in Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Staatsoper Berlin

Faninal's Major-Domo in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss

Staatsoper Berlin

Count Lerma, A Herald in Don Carlos by Verdi

Staatsoper Berlin

First Witch, A Sailor in Dido and Aeneas by Purcell

Staatsoper Berlin

Abdallo in Nabucco by Verdi

Staatsoper Berlin

Kuska in Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky

Staatsoper Berlin

Singer in Les contes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach

Staatskapelle Berlin

Singer in Scènes hongroises by Massenet

Staatskapelle Berlin

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