On some full moon nights, a sinister storm rages through the Wolf's Gorge. For here, in the middle of the forest, free bullets are cast. With the help of these special bullets, every shot hits its mark, even if one cannot actually shoot. And Max urgently needs such free bullets so that he can pass the shooting test and finally be recognized as a member of the community. Otherwise, he will forever be branded as a failure and cannot marry his girlfriend Agathe. To get the free bullets, however, one must enter into a pact with the devil. From Carl Maria von Weber's romantic opera DER FREISCHÜTZ, a music theater is created for people with and without hearing impairment. For the first time, this co-production of the Cologne Opera and the COMEDIA Theater Taube Actors together with singers on stage sets out to explore the question of how music theater can be made more accessible for people with hearing disabilities. Means of accessibility thereby become an aesthetic component of the total work of art: German Sign Language is used equally alongside singing, spoken language and orchestral music. Music and sounds are visualized, and the sense of smell is also engaged. In this way, the story of the Freischütz is staged in such a form that the opera can be experienced with all senses and accessibility for all to this art form is created.

Free Bullets - The Marksman in five dimensions

Comedia Theater

Once upon a time... there was a king who had three children. In the kingdom, the crown had always been passed on to the son or daughter deemed most suitable to rule. A ring served as the symbol of power, which the king must hand over before his death.

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The king gives something away

Cologne Opera

Marla the mayfly has only one day to live. And she wants to discover and learn as much about the world as possible! She sets off on a journey and meets a variety of insects along the way: a beautiful dragonfly, a poetry-writing rhinoceros beetle, a tiny tardigrade with superpowers, and finally a species that does not yet have a name. Marla learns something from every insect. When she returns to the other mayflies, she can look back on a rich and fulfilling life.

Brigitta Gillessen

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 10, 2026 - Jan 2, 2027

The king gives something away · Oper Köln

Nov 26 - Dec 3, 2026

Marla, The May Fly · Oper Köln

Past events

Apr 11 - May 28, 2026

Free Bullets - The Marksman in five dimensions · Oper Köln

About

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