"Love is blind," is what is usually said. In Peter I. Tchaikovsky's last opera, "Iolanta," it is different: it is only love that makes the title heroine see. The young woman, daughter of the Provençal king René, has always been blind. But she knows nothing about it. In order to supposedly protect her, those around her keep this from her, as well as the fact that she is a princess. It is only a stranger who rescues her from her paradisiacal world of illusion: the Burgundian knight Vaudémont reveals to Iolanta that she is blind, thus initiating her healing process, at the end of which, through the power of love and thanks to her own strong will, she can finally see.

Jolanthe

Theater Nordhausen

When you think of serenades, you probably think of summer evenings, nature, conviviality, and cheerfulness. Mozart captured this relaxed mood in numerous works. But serenades can also focus on the dark side of life, on the hidden and unspoken. This is what Benjamin Britten had in mind when he set six poems, all of which revolve around the theme of "night," to music in the middle of the Second World War. He uses the unusual instrumentation of tenor, horn, and strings to create sound effects that range from sparse to sensual, from defiant to melancholic. Antonín Dvořák, on the other hand, gave his wind serenade of 1878 a slightly nostalgic touch, effectively combined with Bohemian dance music. And here, too, there is a festival of tonal colors!

3rd Castle Concert

Blue Hall

Georges Bizet did not live to see the success of his last opera, "Carmen," as he died just a few months after its premiere, which took place in March 1875 at the Paris Opera-comique. At the time, there was a hail of harsh criticism: the title character, for example, was "obscene" in her unconditional love of freedom, an "incarnation of vice" and should be "banned by the police." The composer and his librettists portrayed the dramatic story of the spirited Spanish woman Carmen and her lover Don José in a drastic realism that was unusual for the time. Carmen, who loves her independence and does not allow herself to be taken over, increasingly frees herself from the possessive clutches of Don José. The latter is drawn into a fatal vortex of jealousy and mistrust.

Carmen

The beautiful and at the same time ice-cold Princess Turandot, "the Pure", only wants to marry the prince who can solve her three essentially unsolvable riddles. If he fails, the unsuccessful suitor will be executed. Prince Calàf, irretrievably in love with her, wants to face the tests. Everyone tries to dissuade him from his deadly plan: his blind father Timur, the slave Liů, who herself has fallen in unrequited love for Calàf, and even the three imperial ministers. Nevertheless, he takes the risk and, to Turandot's horror, solves all the riddles. Recognizing her resistance, he poses a riddle of his own, but in the end he reveals the solution, thereby surrendering himself to Turandot once again...

Turandot

Sondershausen Palace

"Missa in angustiis" ("Mass in times of distress") is a truly telling title. Joseph Haydn's D minor work does indeed tell of current hardships and the hope for a better future. The music clearly refers to the war events of that time, the end of which was still far from in sight in 1798. In 1815, the very year when peace finally returned to Europe, the 18-year-old Franz Schubert wrote his 3rd Symphony, in just nine days, as it is said. The youthful stroke of genius seems to capture in music the spirit of optimism after the victory over Napoleon.

3rd Loh concert

St. Blasii Church

Achteckhaus

The lives of Juliet, daughter of the Capulet family, and Romeo, son of the Montagues, would certainly have been different if Juliet had married Count Paris, who was her intended, and Romeo had married his love, Rosalinda. But things turned out differently: when they first met, Romeo and Juliet fell madly in love. But they knew that a romantic relationship was impossible, as their families had been in bitter conflict for a long time. When the secret relationship was discovered, a fateful fight broke out between Romeo and Juliet's cousin Tybalt, which ended in death for the latter and finally destroyed any hope of a happy outcome for the lovers.

Roméo et Juliette

Culture and Convention Center Meininger Hof

Josepha Vogelhuber, landlady of the "White Horse Inn" on the Austrian Wolfgangsee, has the well-being of her guests at heart. Above all, that of her regular guest Dr. Siedler, a distinguished lawyer from Berlin, to whom she has fallen in love. He, however, is interested in the young Ottilie, which in turn pleases Josepha's head waiter Leopold Brandmeyer, because he only has eyes for his boss. In the idyllic Austrian holiday resort, there are a number of emotional turbulences, which an important visitor is able to resolve so skilfully that everyone ends up with a happy ending.

Im weissen Rössl

For the New Year, we extend a heartfelt belated congratulations to the birthday boy of 2025: This October marks the 250th anniversary of Johann Strauss's birth. What could be more fitting than a classical Viennese New Year's Concert featuring Austrian musical delicacies? A few contemporaries such as Franz Lehár and Franz von Suppé, and of course other members of the Strauss family, will also be joining the congratulatory crowd. And as a special "icing on the cake," several vocal works will be performed, such as the Csárdás "Klänge der Heimat" (Sounds of Home) from Johann Strauss's "Die Fledermaus" (The Bat) and the Vilja-Lied (Vilja Song) from Franz Lehár's "Die lustige Witwe" (The Merry Widow).

Kyounghan Seo

Events

Upcoming events

1 - 10 Jan, 2026

New Year's Concert · Loh-Orchester Sondershausen

Past events

2 - 30 May, 2025

Jolanthe · Theater Nordhausen

Apr 27 - May 4, 2025

3rd Castle Concert · Loh-Orchester Sondershausen

Future and recently performed repertoire

Calàf, Timur's son, Prince in Turandot by Puccini

Theater Nordhausen

Roméo Montaigu in Roméo et Juliette by Gounod

Theater Nordhausen

Don José in Carmen by Bizet

Theater Nordhausen

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