On Ceylon, a community of fishermen lives by diving for pearls at the risk of their lives.

Les Pêcheurs de perles

Vienna State Opera

The temple priestess Leila is supposed to banish the water spirits with her singing and protect the fishermen without ever lifting her veil. The return of Zurga's childhood friend Nadir throws events out of balance. The two friends had once sworn to renounce a girl they both loved in order to preserve their friendship. After Leila turns out to be this very girl, Nadir breaks his vow, just as Leila breaks hers, by lifting the veil. Zurga, who not only realizes that Leila once saved his life, but can now also admit his selfishness and jealousy, prevents the execution that the pearl fishers demand for the double breach of oath.

Tycoons Ratefreund and Hoffegut see great potential profits in their utopian city of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Mobilizing the birds for their cause is a means to an end; their destruction by the gods is nothing more than collateral damage. Between ancient themes and late Romantic music, Walter Braunfels' opera hovers as a biting social critique over a realm between heaven and earth. Director Ersan Mondtag returns to Wiesbaden after the success of "Double Serpent"—invited to the 2025 Berlin Theatertreffen—not only as director but also as the driving force behind the spectacular set design.

The birds: Opera by Walter Braunfels

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Two of the world’s most powerful men shake hands – as the world looks on. With their opera about the state visit by US President Nixon to China in 1972 composer John Adams and librettist Alice Goodman rendered a recent historical event in operatic form. They envisioned a »heroic opera« telling of modern myths and the power of images. This rapprochement between the two great powers gave rise to one of the most prodigious media spectacles of the 20th century. Nixon himself put the event on a par with the moon landing. The opera, whose composition was pushed for by Peter Sellars, the director of the eventual premiere, is a depiction of both the details of the visit and the coverage by the media. Alice Goodman’s libretto reflects the tradition of 19th-century opera, with larger-than-life characters interacting and the protagonists dealing with both affairs of state and their private lives. Staged in the style of an excessively satirical documentary, the minimal-music opera sticks close to protocols from the state visit, depicting the larger-than-life protagonists swerving between exhibitionism, helplessness and the desire to reach a mutual understanding.

Nixon in China

Deutsche Oper Berlin

A contemporary and topical opera for our time: When US President Richard Nixon lands on Chinese soil one foggy February morning in 1972, the world holds its collective breath. After decades of silence, the rival powers are starting to come together. A momentous instant in diplomatic history and a superlative media spectacle unfolds as cameras and microphones follow Nixon and Mao Zedong constantly. American composer John Adams and librettist Alice Goodman have taken original, historical documents to create a poppy narration of modern myths and spectacular imagery politics. This minimalist music opera follows the protocol of the state visit like a satirically exaggerated TV documentary, and shows figures between larger-than-life self-presentation and boundless self-deception. Musical theatre collective Hauen und Stechen, known for its anarchic directorial bent, focuses amidst the rush of images on the propagandistic aspect of the summit and provides furious insight into the power plays of the 20th century.

Georges Bizet is best known for his work on Carmen . However, the surge in interest in this opera has also led to the discovery of his earlier works, including Les Pêcheurs de Perle , the twenty-five-year-old composer's first major stage work. Initially, it was to be titled Leila , though the librettists—Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon—ultimately emphasized the two male characters.

Henning Streck

Events

Upcoming events

May 11 - Dec 25, 2026

Les Pêcheurs de perles · Wiener Staatsoper

10 - 30 Jan, 2027

Nixon in China · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Apr 23 - May 9, 2027

Poławiacze pereł · Polish National Opera

Past events

May 11 - Dec 25, 2026

Les Pêcheurs de perles · Wiener Staatsoper

11 - 29 May, 2026

Les Pêcheurs de perles · Wiener Staatsoper

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