The Chinese princess Turandot is obliged to marry only the man who solves her three riddles - a vow that has already cost countless princes their lives. Anyone who fails will be executed that very night. However, when Calaf, a Tartar Prince, sees Turandot, he cannot resist her enigmatic beauty. He solves the tasks, but the princess refuses the marriage. Calaf turns the game round: In order to avoid the marriage, Turandot must discover his name before dawn - a task that pushes everyone to their limits. The aria "Nessun dorma" marks the opera's dramatic climax. But after the naming of the name, "Love", Puccini's last work ends with the note "e poi "Tristano" - "and then Tristan". The opulent production by Lydia Steier ("Director of the Year" 2024) makes this work into an opera experience full of suspense, passion, and spectacle. Felix Bender assumes the Musical Direction once again.

EPSG:4326

Turandot

Cologne Opera

Julies Massenet’s much loved opera Werther moves between ecstasy and resignation, dream and reality, sensual desire and the longing for death. Central to this feverish drama, based on Goethe‘s 1774 epistolary novel, are Werther and his impossible love for Charlotte, who promised her dying mother to marry dependable Albert. Charlotte repeatedly turns Werther down, although she shares his feelings. It ends with Werther taking his life on Christmas Eve.

Werther

Oper Frankfurt

More Music Koblenz Guitar Festival

Rhein-Mosel-Halle

A young hero enters a world full of dangers – without fear, without knowledge of his origins, armed only with a shattered sword as his father’s final legacy. Siegfried grows up far from humankind, raised by the cunning dwarf Mime. When he succeeds in reforging the broken sword Nothung, he becomes a hero of destiny: he slays the dragon Fafner, gains possession of the mighty ring, and drinks the monster’s blood. This grants him an extraordinary gift – he can now understand the language of birds. From them he learns of Brünnhilde, who has been cast into a deep sleep by Wotan. To reach her, Siegfried must pass a ring of blazing fire – a trial that only the truly fearless can endure.

Felix Bender

Events

Upcoming events

Apr 4 - May 17, 2027

Siegfried · Oper Köln

Past events

May 21 - Jun 7, 2026

Turandot · Oper Köln

Mar 6 - Apr 17, 2026

Werther · Oper Frankfurt

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Turandot by Puccini

Oper Köln

Conductor in Werther by Massenet

Oper Frankfurt

Conductor in Siegfried by Wagner

Oper Köln

About

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