Embark on a captivating journey through the rich tapestry of operatic and ballet performances at the esteemed Opernhaus Zürich. This season promises to enchant audiences with a diverse array of productions, including Jonathan Dove's 'In 80 Tagen um die Welt', a whimsical adventure for children and the young at heart; Verdi's gripping 'Un ballo in Maschera', steeped in political intrigue and romantic turmoil; and the evocative tragedy 'Madama Butterfly' by Puccini. From Beethoven's poignant 'Fidelio' to Korngold's haunting 'Die tote Stadt', each performance offers a unique glimpse into the world of opera, making Zürich a cultural haven for art lovers.

An Operatic Odyssey: Discover the Magic of Zürich's Diverse Performances

Opernhaus Zürich is set to ignite the artistic spirit in the heart of Switzerland with its remarkable lineup for the 2025 season. Featuring works from legendary composers like Beethoven and Wagner, as well as a benefit concert with the illustrious Cecilia Bartoli, opera enthusiasts are in for a captivating experience. From the heroic tale of 'Fidelio' to the romantic intrigue of 'Lohengrin' and the haunting beauty of 'Die tote Stadt,' each performance promises to offer a unique journey into the world of opera. Discover the passion, talent, and storytelling that define this season's offerings.

A Symphony of Artistry: Opernhaus Zürich's Spectacular 2025 Season

Opernhaus Zürich invites opera enthusiasts to a spectacular celebration of timeless operatic masterpieces this 2025, featuring Beethoven's poignant 'Fidelio', Wagner's enchanting 'Lohengrin', and Korngold's evocative 'Die tote Stadt'. These performances promise to captivate audiences with a blend of emotional depth, musical brilliance, and theatrical grandeur. With a lineup of world-class performers and the picturesque Zurich backdrop, this operatic extravaganza is an unmissable cultural experience. Dive into the world of passion, heroism, and haunting beauty as we explore the highlights and significance of these iconic operas.

Unveiling Operatic Masterpieces: A Journey Through Fidelio, Lohengrin, and Die tote Stadt at Opernhaus Zürich

Opernhaus Zürich is set to host an operatic feast featuring timeless classics and contemporary pieces. From Wagner's 'Lohengrin' to Offenbach's 'Les Contes d’Hoffmann', the lineup promises to captivate audiences with stellar performances by renowned artists. This season's offerings include compelling narratives, enchanting musical scores, and a celebration of cultural richness, making it a must-visit for opera enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

Operatic Extravaganza at Opernhaus Zürich: A Journey Through Classic and Contemporary Masterpieces

This spring, the Opernhaus Zürich invites opera lovers on a journey through the captivating worlds of Richard Wagner's 'Lohengrin' and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's 'Die tote Stadt.' With performances scheduled throughout April and May 2025, audiences will be treated to the vocal prowess of notable performers like Piotr Beczała and Eric Cutler. Adding to the excitement is a much-anticipated benefit concert featuring the globally renowned Cecilia Bartoli. These events promise to offer a feast for the senses, blending rich narratives, powerful music, and exceptional performances.

Operatic Splendor in Zurich: A Journey Through Lohengrin and Die tote Stadt

Opernhaus Zürich invites you to engage with art in its diverse forms, offering a series of events that delve into the realms of dance, opera, and creative exploration. From experimenting with your voice in 'open space stimme' to experiencing the creative freedom of contemporary dance in 'open space tanz,' and uncovering the theatrical magic behind the scenes with guided tours, there's something for everyone. Join discussions with top dance professionals in 'Zurich Talks Dance' and immerse yourself in classic operatic masterpieces such as 'Die tote Stadt' and 'Rigoletto.'

Discovering Artistic Expression at Opernhaus Zürich: A Journey Through Dance, Opera, and More

Lorenzo Viotti

Eric Cutler

Siena Licht Miller

Vida Miknevičiūtė

Björn Bürger

Evelyn Herlitzius

Rebeca Olvera

Álvaro Diana Sanchez

Nathan Haller

Elena Zaytseva

Ernst Raffelsberger

Gleb Filshtinsky

Beate Breidenbach

Dmitri Tcherniakov

Kinderchor

Opernhaus Zürich

Philharmonia Zürich

SoprAlti der Oper Zürich

Zusatzchor Opernhaus Zürich

Clara Schumann was very likely the most important pianist of her time. Her life – as a daughter, artist, wife, mother, carer, manager, and muse – was full of ups and downs, and she devoted it entirely to music. In a world dominated by men, she displayed a degree of independence and self-determination that was astonishing for a woman of her time.

Cathy Marston follows the path of this exceptional artist, and focuses on Clara and her divorced parents, her relationship with Robert Schumann, and her connection with Johannes Brahms in her ballet, which premiered in 2024. She tells of devotion and passion, inspiration and responsibility.

Clara

Zurich Opera House

Giuseppe Verdi’s «Messa da Requiem» is one of the most popular pieces in the concert repertoire. In a sensational co-production by the Oper Zürich and Ballett Zürich, Christian Spuck brought the oratorio for four solo voices, choir, and orchestra to the stage in 2016, as a combination of dance, abstract scene, space, and light. In his internationally acclaimed production, Spuck focuses on the human creature in the face of death and embarks on a sensitive search for traces of the whence and whither of the human being, between the terrifying proximity of death, loneliness, community solidarity, and mourning.

Requiem Mass

Olga Neuwirth is one of the outstanding composers of our time. Together with Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, she is writing a new piece of music theater. They send two «vampires» – really avatars of themselves – on a journey around the world. They observe the decline of humanity while a tyrannical king and a self-conjuring sea monster fight for power.

Monster's Paradise

Scylla lives withdrawn into herself, as if in emotional hibernation. Reason, peace, and harmony reign in her cosmos. When Glaucus enters her life, everything changes: She experiences love in all its colors and facets – and does not recognize herself. The opera describes all the lust, wildness, panic, and despair that the young woman experiences as she rediscovers the world for herself. In the end, she will be someone else. Jean-Marie Leclair's rarely performed only opera is a musical discovery. Director Claus Guth returns to Opernhaus Zürich with this new production.

Scylla and Glaucus

The term «butterfly effect» is emblematic of the realization that in nature everything is connected to everything else and that the smallest interventions in a natural balance can trigger major effects. It is no different in art. In this program, the Junior Ballett, which embodies the dance of the future, explores the «Butterfly Effect». In addition to ballet director Cathy Marston, two representatives of a new generation of choreographers, Lucas Valente and Ihsan Rustem, created pieces for the Junior Ballet.

The Butterfly Effect

Although she is surrounded by many admirers, Arabella dreams only of the «right one». She finds him in Mandryka, the Croatian landowner. Opera history’s final idealized marriage of love was written on the precipice of disaster: The opera dates to a time of deep social insecurity. The operetta-like tone of Strauss’ «Lyrischer Komödie» is strangely fractured. When it premiered in Dresden in 1933, it was instrumentalized by the Nazis for propaganda purposes. 

Arabella

An attempted coup is uncovered, and his best friend is a conspirator – but Tito would rather renounce his office as ruler than base his power on fear and terror. «La clemenza di Tito» is a work that poses timeless questions about how to deal with power, and about guilt and forgiveness. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s late opera seria contains some of his most beautiful arias and ensembles. Conductor Marc Minkowski returns to Opernhaus Zürich with this new production, as does Italian director Damiano Michieletto.

The clemency of Titus

Recital Michael Volle

Puccini’s one-act opera does not end with a tragic operatic death. The body of the rich Buoso Donati is already laid out when the curtain rises, his loudly lamenting relatives gathered around. But appearances can be deceiving. Puccini paints a family portrait of a shameless and greedy community of heirs. Even shrewd mastermind Gianni Schicchi is only out for himself. This lively ensemble piece is tailor-made for the members of the International Opera Studio. Up-and-coming director Lilli Fischer combines Puccini’s only comic opera with a newly developed prequel.

Gianni Schicchi

In order to free her husband Florestan, Leonore disguises herself as a male prison guard and sneaks into a prison. Beethoven’s only opera is infused with an unwavering belief in the power of hope. The powerful liberation music at the end anticipates the «Ode to Joy» from his Ninth Symphony. Andreas Homoki separates the plot from its bourgeois comic light opera context, focusing instead on the utopian idea of world brotherhood and the universal themes of humanity that Beethoven chose as his central focus. Klaus Florian Vogt, one of the most outstanding tenors of our time, will appear as Florestan.

Fidelio

Chamber music concerts are an important part of the program. In various formations and ensembles, the musicians of the Orchester der Oper Zürich explore a wide repertoire. At close quarters and in intimate spaces, audiences experience the intensity of the musicians as they make music. Each of the nine chamber music programs in the Spiegelsaal has its own individual focus: classics of the genre meet rarely heard works, and early music meets crossover.

9th Chamber Concert

Hall of Mirrors

«La Damnation de Faust» is one of Hector Berlioz's most revolutionary works, a dramatic journey to hell that is part opera, part oratorio. «I neither tried to translate Goethe’s masterpiece nor to imitate it, but simply let it work on me in an effort to grasp its musical content», the composer stated candidly. His multicolored music is imaginary theater, a journey into Faust’s interior, from which the devil Méphistophélès himself seems to emerge.

The Damnation of Faust

Opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957)
Libretto by Paul Schott (Julius and Erich Wolfgang Korngold) after the novel
«Bruges la morte» by Georges Rodenbach

Die tote Stadt

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