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

«L'amour est un oiseau rebelle», sings Carmen in Georges Bizet’s opera of the same name. Mats Ek, the Swedish dance legend, made Carmen the heroine of a ballet at the Cullberg Ballet in 1992. He based it closely on the novella by Prosper Mérimée, which also forms the basis for the opera, in which Don José tells the story of Carmen from his death cell. Playing with classic gender roles, Mats Ek avoids common Carmen clichés and finds a deeply human interpretation. Another strong female figure is at the center of Dani Rowe’s choreography. After a career as a dancer with the Australian Ballet and the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Australian-born choreographer now heads the Oregon Ballet Theater. She is creating her first choreography for the Ballett Zürich, set to the music of Mussorgsky’s «Bilder einer Ausstellung», in the orchestral version by Maurice Ravel.

Rebel Birds

Zurich Opera House

War, flight, hatred and revenge characterize the grand portrait that Giuseppe Verdi created in «La forza del destino». Amid this unpredictable interplay of forces, Leonora and Alvaro search for each other, fight for their love, experience persecution, find refuge in faith, and are crushed by inexorable fate. Director Valentina Carrascothe Catalan, who was a member of the Catalan theater collective La Fura dels Baus, uses Verdi’s monumental scenes as an opportunity to question the values of war and peace in the 21st century, creating a dystopian fantasy. Anna Netrebko returns to Zurich as Leonora. General Music Director Gianandrea Noseda is on the podium.

The strength of destiny

The composer Engelbert Humperdinck based his work on the most famous of all fairy tales. The operatic version of the story of the siblings Hänsel and Gretel, who lose their way in the forest and nearly fall victim to the Knusperhexe, or witch, has always inspired audiences. The music takes well-known folk melodies and combines them with large, shimmering soundscapes that move between dream and reality, and between fears and fantasies. Zurich-born director Thom Luz has received numerous awards for his theater work. With «Hansel and Gretel», he makes his long-awaited opera debut, and unleashes the poetic power of theatrical magic. Lithuanian conductor Giedrė Šlekytė musically directs.

Hansel and Gretel

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.

5th Chamber Concert

Hall of Mirrors

Be someone else for a night? It’s not just frustrated Rosalinde and her employee Adele, who would much rather have been an artist, who dream of it. Together with Gabriel von Eisenstein, who has just been sentenced to prison, and Dr. Falke, who is bent on revenge, they go to Prince Orlofsky's crazy ball. Here, of all places, all the masks drop. Austrian director Anna Bernreitner stages this most Viennese of all operettas in costumes by renowned fashion designer Arthur Arbesser. It’s an evening with champagne moods, missed opportunities, and the lightness inherent in darkness, musically directed by the Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti.

The Bat

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

2nd La Scintilla Concert

The court of the Duke of Mantua is host to lavish parties. But in this society, having fun means humiliating and degrading others, and the most cynical joker of all is Rigoletto. He wants to protect his daughter Gilda from the corrupt world, so he locks her away. But the young woman goes her own way. Together with «Il trovatore» and «La traviata», «Rigoletto» cemented Verdi’s international fame as an opera composer. The opera is gripping theater in which all roles are ideally cast: from the king to the avenger, from the lover to the murderer.

Rigoletto

The «Japanese tragedy» by Giacomo Puccini shows how the American naval officer Pinkerton embraces Japanese culture, marrying Cio-Cio-San, a young geisha, for the duration of his stay. When he later returns with his «real» wife to take the child he had with Cio-Cio-San back to his homeland, the young woman is left with only one way out. With his ambitious composition, Puccini combined Eastern and Western motifs, producing one of his most successful operas at the start of the 20th century. Director Ted Huffman brings the opera to the stage in stunningly beautiful images and with great narrative tension.

Madama Butterfly

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.

6th Chamber Concert

The Orchester der Oper Zürich starts the concert season under a new, old name. After thirteen years as Philharmonia Zurich, the orchestra will return to its original moniker. The Philharmonic Concerts will once again alternate between the Opernhaus and the Tonhalle Zürich.

Altstaedt & Chan

This four-part ballet evening brings together two legendary dance pieces and two world premieres.

The Ballett Zürich has a long-standing relationship with the American choreographer William Forsythe. His «New Suite» from 2012, set to music by Bach, Händel, and Berio, combines eight technically demanding duets from different creative periods, forming a showcase of his work «en miniature». Hans van Manen made dance history in 1979 with his video ballet «Live». Created in the pioneering days of video technology, this piece for two dancers, a pianist, and a cameraman explodes the boundaries of the stage space, revealing itself to be a masterful puzzle game about the mechanisms of perception.

Timeframed

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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