Seeing his love succeed against the will of the parents is pretty difficult in a rural setting. Especially when he is also considered an outsider, things do not look good with the parents-in-law, and there's a lot of money in the mix as well. But what Hans negotiates with Kezal the marriage broker, without discussing it with his beloved Marie, certainly requires a very special kind of chutzpah, and it very nearly goes all wrong – bartering his loved one to a certain person, which turns out through rhetorical trickery to be himself, only becomes evident as a good idea at the end. Which once again proves: The comedy is only a tragedy avoided at the very last minute.

The Bartered Bride

Max-Joseph-Platz

Since its first performance in 1893, Humperdinck's most famous opera Hansel and Gretel has remained constantly popular, becoming over the generations almost synonymous with the first family visit to the opera. "Brother come and dance with me!“ – "Susie, dear Susie" – a dancing brother and sister, the Dew Fairy and the Sandman, the Witch and the parents: a collection of all the fairy tale elements of the 19th century. And yet this is also a tale of hardship, hunger and the desire for abundance with a clear moral: "When the need is greatest, God the Lord puts out His hand!“

Hänsel Und Gretel

Count Almaviva has himself abolished the iusprimae noctis, or "right of the lord". A fact, however, which does not prevent him from trying to seduce the Countess’s maid, Susanna, just before her marriage to Figaro. A clear case of sexual harassment. But, what happens when the culprit has plenty of money and power? Or, can even bend the law to suit their wishes? Le nozze di Figaro was more than just a comedy back in Mozart’s day. The world portrayed is brim full of criminal machinations and blatant fraud and chicanery by the powerful and almighty. Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto based on the scandalous play by the French revolutionary, Beaumarchais, leads the colourful characters of a comedy of the classes into situations so hopeless that emptiness and the desire to die spread to all quarters. And so the Count’s love for his new wife following their marriage suddenly goes ice-cold, although he has just recently spectacularly freed her from the clutches of her custodian. The resourceful Figaro of all people had helped him here, and in gratitude, the Count now employs him as his personal valet, perhaps as questionable compensation for Susanna’s harassment. Hardly conquered, the countess finds herself neglected and longs for either Almaviva's love or her own death. It takes a great deal of intrigue and counter-intrigue to disempower the encroaching count and allow Susanna's wedding to her beloved Figaro to take place after all.

Juliane Banse

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 12, 2025 - May 24, 2026

The Marriage Of Figaro · Bayerische Staatsoper

Past events

7 - 17 Feb, 2026

The Bartered Bride · Bayerische Staatsoper

5 - 12 Dec, 2025

Hänsel Und Gretel · Bayerische Staatsoper

Future and recently performed repertoire

Kathinka in The Bartered Bride by Smetana

Bayerische Staatsoper

Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart

Bayerische Staatsoper

Gertrud in Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck

Bayerische Staatsoper

About

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