She lives in the here and now, one of the best-known heroines in operatic history, she makes sergeant Don José lose his mind, throwing his life into confusion. His attempts to make her tow the line fail because she can’t be tied down. They gradually drive each other into corners. Bizet’s music brings the differences in their perceptions of love and relationships into contrast again and again: Their downfall starts with light-hearted operetta music, but ends in tragedy. Barrie Kosky’s production quickly achieved cult status after it blasted onto the stage in  2015, and has lost none of its impact, taking the most performed opera in the world back to its roots - Opéra comique. The story’s interspersed and told using concise texts, steering us towards its tragic end. En route, romantic, amusing moments and wonderful dance routines share the stage. Kosky’s vision is fascinating, toying masterfully with usual Carmen and Spanish clichés.

EPSG:4326

Carmen

Oper Frankfurt

What would I give my life for? How can I stand up for love and freedom? In Beethoven's opera, Leonore has to face existential questions. Her husband Florestan has openly spoken out about social injustice and disappeared into prison. Leonore dares everything and - disguised as Fidelio - sets out to free him. The role has been sung many times by the exceptional singer Evelyn Herlitzius. In Wiesbaden she directed the production for the first time and tells the story of the political prisoner Florestan and his liberator Leonore as a question about the people behind the heroism.

Fidelio

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

She received great enthusiasm for her dazzling, sophisticated music, and yet she performed almost exclusively within her own four walls: Barbara Strozzi, singer and one of the most exciting and productive composers before 1700.

Salon Strozzi

A sophisticated story and timelessly good music are the best prerequisites for a successful comedy. With "The Marriage of Figaro", Mozart opened his trio of legendary master operas, all of which the composer wrote based on librettos by the Italian Lorenzo Da Ponte. The piece presents an everlasting love story, a playful and biting social satire - and yet all these descriptions fall short. Because "Figaro" is above all: a work of upheaval, a piece of stormy pressure for personal recognition and thus at the same time a timeless symbol of the individual's rebellion against the establishment.

The Marriage of Figaro

"Carmen" is still one of the most popular operas today. At the premiere in 1875, audiences were initially more shocked than enthusiastic, because Bizet elevated the underprivileged - the fatally seductive Carmen and the deserting soldier Don José - to the main characters of his story. Nevertheless, the opera began its great triumph. Even more than one hundred and forty years later, the work fascinates audiences all over the world with its world of smugglers, bullfighters, factory workers, policemen, children and soldiers. In addition to ensemble member Fleuranne Brockway as Carmen, Stefano La Colla, one of the most important tenors on the international opera scene, is a guest in Wiesbaden and is making his debut as Don José. The revival is being conducted by General Music Director Leo McFall.

Carmen: Georges Bizet

Other times shimmer through the works in this program. In a wide variety of forms, the compositions seek to engage with heritage and tradition, to deal creatively with past styles and eras. Both Gustav Mahler’s 4th Symphony from 1901 and Thomas Adès’ Couperin Studies from 2006 allow new sound worlds to grow out of old. Adès built a framework around three harpsichord movements by the Baroque composer Couperin, which adds new effects to the basic structure and lets the orchestra dance with the fragments of the original. Mahler’s Fourth says goodbye to the romantic pathos of the past 19th century. On the one hand, it seems almost classical, but on the other hand it looks to the future: to Mahler’s late works, which are breaking into the modern era. Here, cheerful idyll lies close to the abyss. Everything is geared towards the finale with a poem from “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”, whose delicate lines are made for the soprano Alyona Rostovskaya from the opera ensemble of the Wiesbaden State Theater.

Alyona Rostovskaya

Events

Past events

Dec 13, 2025 - Jan 31, 2026

Carmen · Oper Frankfurt

May 4, 2025

Fidelio · Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Symphony No. 4 by Mahler

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Micaëla in Carmen by Bizet

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Singer in Piano Concerto in G Major by Ravel

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Marzelline in Fidelio by Beethoven

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Singer in Three Studies from Couperin by Adès

Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Micaëla in Carmen by Bizet

Oper Frankfurt

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