Director

Christoph Marthaler makes texts by Basel artist Dieter Roth (1930 - 1998) resound in a pharmacy. Here they touch the heart, kidneys, stomach and intestines. The tear ducts are also affected, as Roth wrote a so-called sea of tears. Five marvellous pharmacists and a wonderful customer bathe in these tears in a decidedly unsentimental way. The prescription they write for life is a poem. The guest performance during Art Basel is presented by the Laurenz Foundation, the sponsoring foundation of Schaulager in Münchenstein/Basel. Schaulager also looks after Dieter Roth's former studio space ‹Selbstturm, Löwenturm› from the collection of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation near the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart.

Das Weinen (Das Wähnen)

Theater Basel

When the HORA Theater was founded in Zurich in 1993, a Marthaler production ‹Murx den Europäer!› was premiering at the (Volks-)Bühne in Berlin. Coincidence? Or the famous law of meaningful synchronicity?

Company with special dedication (Limited Liability Company)

Theatre icon Christoph Marthaler presents one of the world’s earliest operas as a ruthless, strikingly relevant tale of power and intrigue.

L’incoronazione di Poppea recounts a bloody chapter of Roman history, teeming with corruption and immorality.

L’incoronazione di Poppea

Royal Danish Opera

The return of two grand masters: Gustav Mahler – star conductor, visionary composer, and the most famous General Music Director in the history of the State Opera. His music unfolds a panorama of human experience – constantly fluctuating between joie de vivre and the dance of death. Director Christoph Marthaler, known for his idiosyncratic and playful scenic collages, approaches Mahler's oeuvre with an intense chamber piece.

EPSG:4326

The Troublemakers

Staatsoper Hamburg

On the banks of the Volga, in a small Russian town, lives a poetic soul: Katia Kabanova. How could she not feel stifled, trapped between an apathetic husband and a tyrannical mother-in-law? Believing she can satisfy her longing for the absolute in the arms of another man, Katia soon discovers that the sting of remorse will drive her toward a tragic fate. 

Director

Christoph Marthaler

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 27 - Feb 13, 2027

Katia Kabanova · Opéra national de Paris

Past events

17 - 21 Jun, 2026

Das Weinen (Das Wähnen) · Theater Basel

May 7 - Jun 12, 2026

Company with special dedication (Limited Liability Company) · Theater Basel

About

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