Sometimes as a cautionary tale of a wrongdoer who eventually gets his comeuppance, sometimes as an allegory of a freedom-loving, unconventional libertine who questions the moral and religious ideas of his day: The figure of the irresistibly attractive yet unscrupulous Don Juan (or Don Giovanni) is a modern myth, among whose numerous adaptations Mozart’s "dramma giocoso" stands out.

Don Giovanni

Bebelplatz

Scriabin’s vision for Prometheus lays out the mythic tale of humanity receiving the gift of fire not just through mystical music but through an all-consuming work of art that draws on the audience’s senses. The Russian composer, who described himself as synesthetic, envisioned a color organ for the piece that would project various hues of light that he associated with each musical tone or chord.

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Prometheus with Esa-Pekka Salonen

Walt Disney Concert Hall

The setting is Carthage, in ancient times: the hero Aeneas flees from burning Troy and arrives in North Africa via the Mediterranean Sea with his fleet of ships, where he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They are lovestruck – and yet fail to bond because of fate’s intervention. Aeneas continues on his journey to form a new kingdom in Italy, while the abandoned Dido is left no alternative but to stay.

Dido & Aeneas

In the early 1930s, for Richard Strauss — approaching 70 — it was an auspicious moment when Stefan Zweig, a renowned author known for his artful, profound novels and plays, proposed writing a new libretto. In a mutually inspiring collaboration, they created a truly “comic opera” based on a play by Ben Jonson from the Shakespeare period filled not only with striking characters, tempo, and wit, but profound reflection as well. “The opera is a perfect, but perhaps for the twenty-first century,” according to Strauss himself, who in a difficult, dark time created a work of creative compositional virtuosity and a relaxed sense of humor, a story of people longing for rest or who lose themselves in busyness. This will be director Jan Philipp Gloger’s debut and it will be Christian Thielemann’s first new production as general music director, a position once held by Strauss himself.

Jingjing Xu

Events

Upcoming events

9 - 29 May, 2026

Die schweigsame Frau · Staatsoper Berlin

Past events

6 - 25 Feb, 2026

Don Giovanni · Staatsoper Berlin

9 - 11 Jan, 2026

Prometheus with Esa-Pekka Salonen · Los Angeles Philharmonic

Future and recently performed repertoire

Zerlina in Don Giovanni by Mozart

Staatsoper Berlin

Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas by Purcell

Staatsoper Berlin

Carlotta in Die schweigsame Frau by Strauss

Staatsoper Berlin

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