When the planned performance of his opera seria Ariadne auf Naxos in the palace of a Viennese nouveau riche is combined with the dance masquerade of an Italian comedy troupe, the young composer is initially in despair.

Ariadne auf Naxos

Vienna State Opera

Rusalka's loss of speech clearly reflects her fears of identification, exclusion and existence. Director Sven-Eric Bechtolf reflects these emotional and mental states in a surreal, unreal and oppressive world. The story of the renegade mermaid is told in haunting images between a snowy desert and barren woodland.

Rusalka

Good and evil, childhood and growing up, dreams, fears and trials - the popular opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart puts people at the centre. And at the same time it is a fairy tale: Prince Tamino is not necessarily a hero in the classic sense. When the three ladies entrust him with the task of freeing the Queen of the Night's daughter from the clutches of the mysterious Sarastro, he is anything but enthusiastic. But a picture of the young princess suddenly gives him new motivation: he falls head over heels in love with Pamina's image. He sets off with the quirky bird catcher Papageno. Equipped with the magic flute and magic bells, they are ready (or not) to face Sarastro's three great trials.

The Magic Flute: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

The dwarf Alberich, ridiculed and rejected by the three Rhinemaidens, steals the Rhinegold,curses love and uses the gold to forge a ring that bestows great power. From then on, everyone lusts after it, but it brings death and destruction, laden with a curse.

Das Rheingold

With their incestuous, adulterous love, they violate the guest and marriage laws that Wotan's wife Fricka watches over. Siegmund is therefore supposed to die in a duel with Hunding, but Wotan's daughter Brünnhilde, a Valkyrie, defies her father's will and fights for Siegmund. Wotan is forced to kill Siegmund himself. Brünnhilde is punished by her father: he surrounds her with a wall of fire and sinks her into a deep sleep.

Die Walküre

He has never learned to fear. So he manages to forge the sword Notung and use it to kill the dragon Fafner. He wins the Ring of the Nibelung and is led by the forest bird to Brünnhilde, who has been put to sleep by the god Wotan. Siegfried awakens Brünnhilde and they both fall in love with each other.

Siegfried

In the final part of the Nibelung tetralogy, Siegfried goes out into the world, gets caught up in Hagen's intrigues and is murdered by him. Dying, he remembers his love for Brünnhilde.

Götterdämmerung

The beautiful Arabella doesn't want to make a commitment until she meets the right man, "who will one day stand before her".

Arabella

Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlo" unites political power struggles and unrequited passion in a monumental operatic drama. The Spanish Infante Carlos loves the French princess Elisabetta. When his father, King Philip II, marries her for political reasons, Carlos comes into conflict with the ruler. Against the backdrop of the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition and the Flanders War of Independence, Giuseppe Verdi created a work that is as moving as it is highly dramatic. Petr Popelka, one of the rising stars of the younger generation of conductors, returns to the podium of the Zurich Opera Orchestra. Lise Davidsen sings Elisabetta di Valois.

Marianne Glittenberg

Events

Upcoming events

May 19 - Jun 6, 2026

Das Rheingold · Wiener Staatsoper

May 25 - Jun 7, 2026

Die Walküre · Wiener Staatsoper

May 30 - Jun 10, 2026

Siegfried · Wiener Staatsoper

4 - 14 Jun, 2026

Götterdämmerung · Wiener Staatsoper

May 22 - Jun 1, 2027

Arabella · Wiener Staatsoper

Past events

19 - 25 Feb, 2026

Ariadne auf Naxos · Wiener Staatsoper

8 - 15 Jan, 2026

Rusalka · Wiener Staatsoper

About

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