Singer

The people are thirsty for blood. Another suitor for the hand of the sovereign is about to be publicly beheaded, because Princess Turandot is determined never to belong to any man. That’s why anyone who wants to marry her must first solve three riddles. Anyone who fails has to pay with his life. An unknown prince, revolted by Turandot’s cruelty, yet attracted by her beauty, takes on this potentially lethal risk – and solves the riddles. But has he awakened the ice-cold, man-murdering sovereign to love and put an end to her barbarity?

Turandot

Max-Joseph-Platz

The International Meistersinger Academy (IMA) not only offers outstanding singers excellent study opportunities but also paves the way for them to pursue a career. Under the artistic direction of Edith Wiens, the IMA will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2026. Alumni of the academy will perform in the gala concert under the direction of Matthias Foremny.

Gala concert

Reitstadel

In honeyed tones, Lord and Lady Macbeth reveal their passionate and bizarre emotions to us. But behind this beauty there lurks an abyss, which Verdi unveils with one of the cruelest dramas in the history of world literature. In their struggle to seize power and retain it once it has been usurped, Macbeth and his lady commit one murder after another. The unwavering nature of their desire imbues their love with a radicality that would have been unthinkable on the operatic stage before this work. “The subject matter of this opera is neither political nor religious: it is fantastic,” wrote Verdi and brought Shakespeare’s play closer to a more “romantic” reading. In actual fact, the witches, ghosts and apparitions, the eerie elements, which dominate the musical and dramatic flow, in short the whole world of this opera can be regarded as an outward image of its protagonists’ inner state.

Macbeth

Neither balsam, nor medicinal herbs can provide relief to the wounded and ailing Amfortas, ruler of the Grail kingdom. His path to recovery proves to be a complex one. No member of the Grail community can reclaim the spear which inflicted the wound, but only an outsider, a “pure fool”, enlightened by compassion. Only by the tip of this spear touching Amfortas’s wound can he be healed. On his journey of self-discovery, towards his destiny as chosen deliverer, Parsifal is accompanied, not only by the skilful Grail Knight Gurnemanz, but also by the enigmatic and seductive Kundry, who opens his eyes to sensuality and extrasensory experience.

Parsifal

Dressed as a man and calling herself “Fidelio”, Leonore surreptitiously gains the confidence of the jailer Rocco and his daughter Marzelline, thus gaining access to the high security tract where her husband Florestan has been despotically incarcerated by Don Pizarro. Florestan is in mortal danger, but this does not intimidate his wife, who is determined to liberate him. Finally, however, the two of them can only be rescued by an emissary from the monarch. At the end, a Utopia in the form of a final chorus sets the stage aglow, not only as a plea for freedom and justice, but also concurrently as a condemnation of the anxieties and restrictions of human existence.

Fidelio

In the portrait concerts of the Opera Studio, two singers and a pianist from the Opera Studio present themselves. The program consists exclusively of song repertoire, which is selected by the singers in consultation with the pianists and, along with operas, forms an important part of the vocal repertoire. The portrait concerts offer the possibility to get to know the three artists in their own way and with their history in a nice atmosphere.

Portrait Concert 2

Artist House

Men don't fall in love with courtesans! That's the opinion of Alfredo's father after his son moves in with the mortally ill Violetta Valéry. In her love for Alfredo Violetta even agrees. She leaves him, dies poor, ill – still dreaming of the happiness of true love. One of Verdi's most beloved operas continues to hold the mirror up to society and its hypocritical morality. An exemplary production! See it!

La Traviata

As the template for his opera, Die Englische Katze (1983), Hans Werner Henze turned to a story by Honoré de Balzac from the early 1840s, illustrated by the famous caricaturist, Grandville. The libretto for Die Englische Katze was delivered by the English author Edward Bond, with whom Henze had already collaborated successfully with his previous opera, We Come to the River. If this was a passionate plea against the war, at first glance this animal parable, Die Englische Katze, appears to be apolitical, indeed, even harmless or amusing. The story about the ageing tomcat, Lord Puff, president of a vegetarian-nourishing “Royal Society for the Protection of Rats” and his young wife Minette, who falls in love with another, daring and exciting tomcat, Tom, ends tragically however, and serves as a wicked satire. Minette is drowned by the other cats, Tom is stabbed in the back, just after he has inherited a large sum of money. The insensitive, hypocritical cat society that only looks out for its own benefit gets off scot free.

EPSG:4326

Die Englische Katze

Munich Residence

Dr. Arnold and Emma Bahlmann, DIBAG Industriebau AG, Rolf and Caroli Dienst, Vera and Volker Doppelfeld-Stiftung, Dr. Dierk and Veronika Ernst, Monika and Karl Ertl, Christa Fassbender, Dr. Joachim Feldges, Friends of the Nationaltheater, Dietlinde and Carl-Peter Forster, Oliver and Claudia Götz, Regina Hesselberger, Stefan and Maria Holzhey, Dirk and Marlene Ippen, Christine and Marco Janezic, Dr. Hans-Dieter Koch and Silvie Katalin Varga, Christof Lamberts, LfA Förderbank Bayern, Christiane Link, The Opera Foundation, A+Olivia Rogowski, Schwarz Foundation, Dr. Martin Steinmeyer, Georg and Swantje von Werz, Oliver and Kaori Zipse

Passion Concert

Allerheiligen-Hofkirche

Sir John Falstaff is an ageing gentleman with empty pockets but boundless faith in his own charm and irresistible appeal. In an attempt to restore his finances, he simultaneously sets out to seduce two wealthy married women of Windsor. Yet the ladies quickly compare notes – and the puffed-up knight soon receives a lesson he will not easily forget.

Falstaff

The Royal Danish Playhouse

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.

Tenor

Samuel Stopford

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 16 - Mar 4, 2027

Falstaff · Det Kongelige Teater

Apr 23 - May 9, 2027

Poławiacze pereł · Polish National Opera

Past events

Jun 6 - Jul 6, 2026

Turandot · Bayerische Staatsoper

Apr 30, 2026

Gala concert · Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Future and recently performed repertoire

Pong in Turandot by Puccini

Bayerische Staatsoper

Malcolm in Macbeth by Verdi

Bayerische Staatsoper

Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles by Bizet

Polish National Opera

Fenton in Falstaff by Verdi

Det Kongelige Teater

Gaston in La traviata by Verdi

Bayerische Staatsoper

Jaquino in Fidelio by Beethoven

Bayerische Staatsoper

Singer in The Last Sorrows of the Redeemer by Bach

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Singer in Trio Sonata in D minor by Bach

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Peter in The English Cat by Henze

Bayerische Staatsoper

Fourth Squire in Parsifal by Wagner

Bayerische Staatsoper

About

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