«Free she was born, free she will die»: To preserve her freedom, Carmen even accepts her own death. With her uncompromising will to autonomy, she shattered the moral conventions of her time. This sets her apart from the many passive, self-sacrificing female characters of 19th-century opera – once a scandalous figure, later a figure of identification, always a large screen onto which audiences project their own feelings. Director Ole Anders Tandberg takes up these ambivalences and works with iconic images: the bright red flamenco dress, the torero costume and the bullring. But these symbols are not left uncommented upon; instead, they are exaggerated to the point of the grotesque and the macabre. An emotional rollercoaster ride with catchy tunes like the Habanera and the Toreador Song that will linger long in memory. Argentinian conductor Alejo Pérez, General Music Director of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, makes his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Gaëlle Arquez brings charm and sophistication to the French Carmen, and later our new ensemble member Kristina Stanek introduces herself as the new Berlin Carmen.

Carmen

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Georges Bizet’s titular heroine is as captivating a character as any in the history of opera. The different interpretations of Carmen are legion: we have the seductress, the personification of forbidden yearning, the standard bearer for the “eternally female” in the brutal battle of the sexes, the anarchist unfettered by bourgeois angst and compulsions, the archaic clairvoyante seeing her own death in the cards - yet free, as she does not dread her destiny. Few opera heroines are so open to interpretation and hence so able to serve as a mirror held up to society.

In their second collaboration after LE NOZZE DI FIGARO Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte drew on the Spanish legend of Don Juan. Earlier popularity aside, the protagonist only attained the mythical dimensions of a heroic archetype in Mozart’s operatic version, which went on to inspire countless reimaginings of the material and philosophical readings by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Søren Kierkegaard et al. A raft of musical pieces from DON GIOVANNI, ranging from arias and the famous overture to duets, trios and ensembles, have seared themselves into our collective awareness.

Don Giovanni

E. T. A. Hoffmann called Don Giovanni «the opera of all operas.» The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard even included the piece in his major work, where the title character is described as „the incarnation of the genius of all that is sensual.” Don Giovanni is variously seen as an erotic womanizer or a ruthless lecher, as Dionysus incarnate or a contemptible sex offender. In Roland Schwab’s production, too, he appears fragmented. Driven by an insatiable desire for more, he staggers between revelry, orgies of violence and ascetic withdrawal. After great success with this production, Davide Luciano returns as Don Giovanni and Tommaso Barea as his cynical servant Leporello. Olga Peretyatko makes her debut at our theatre as Donna Elvira. Stefano Montanari will conduct this revival in his usual field, before presenting himself from a completely different perspective with the premiere of Otello.

Silke Sense

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 4, 2026 - Mar 12, 2027

Carmen · Deutsche Oper Berlin

14 - 28 Mar, 2027

Don Giovanni · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Past events

Oct 4, 2026 - Mar 12, 2027

Carmen · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Oct 25, 2025 - Jun 12, 2026

Carmen · Deutsche Oper Berlin

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