Name: Carmen
Start: 2026-03-27T19:30:00
Location: Theater Lübeck

Dive into the captivating world of Theater Lübeck, where drama, opera, and ballet come alive on stage. From the gripping courtroom drama of 'The Broken Jug' to the passionate and tragic romance of 'Carmen,' the diverse performances offer something for everyone. This season, the theater brings to life stories that challenge perceptions, celebrate human emotions, and explore the fabric of society. Join us as we explore the exciting lineup of events that promise to engage, inspire, and entertain.

Exploring the Dramatic Tapestry: Theater Lübeck's Spectacular Line-Up

Stefan Vladar

Andrea Stadel

Evmorfia Metaxaki

Frederike Schulten

Noah Schaul

Delia Bacher

Wonjun Kim

Changjun Lee

Viktor Aksentijević

Jacob Scharfman

Konstantinos Klironomos

Ieva Prudnikovaite

Philipp Himmelmann

Meentje Nielsen

Dieter Richter

Theater Lübeck

"One must be light, with a light heart and light hands, holding and taking, holding and letting go..." With these words, Field Marshal Princess Werdenberg reflects on her life. She has a youthful and passionate lover, Count Octavian, but suspects that sooner or later he will leave her for a younger woman. Her morning tête-à-tête with her lover is interrupted by her cousin, the uncouth Baron Ochs von Lerchenau. To improve his disastrous financial situation, he wants to marry the young Sophie von Faninal, daughter of a wealthy newly ennobled man. The Marshal suggests Octavian as the "Rosenkavalier," who will present the silver rose as his courtship. During the exchange of roses, however, Octavian and Sophie fall in love. Despite her pain, the Field Marshal knows how to let go of her lover "with ease," because she has vowed to "love him in the right way, so that I myself still love his love for another..."

The Rosenkavalier

An entertaining evening with the hits of the 70s awaits you! We'll take you back to the days of flared trousers, flashy outfits, the first TV game shows for the whole family, and top everything with "cream, please!"

A festival of love

A little man in a forest? Quite the opposite: A tree stands on A.'s balcony. It seems to have grown overnight from a crack, a crevice in the concrete. The city's gardening department doesn't feel responsible, and the forestry department soon proves overwhelmed, as forests suddenly sprout up in every European city. Volunteers are sought to clear vegetation from the Eiffel Tower, and Bambi grazes in the canyons of high-rise buildings.

Forest

Whether rocking, cuddling, or listening – everything is allowed here. A concert that invites you to dream, encourages you to listen, and creates musical encounters for all ages.

Crawling concert Sandman and Dew Man

Essigfabrik

While "Don Giovanni" is being performed in the opera house, the real show takes place in the wine cellar next door – here, the poet Hoffmann entertains his customers with his fantastic tales in which people turn out to be machines, singing can be fatal, and mysterious figures seek to rob him of his reflection. The hidden core of every story: his relationship with the singer Stella, who is also on stage as Donna Anna in the opera. The longer the evening goes on, the crazier the stories become, until Hoffmann finally threatens to lose touch with reality...

Hoffmann's Tales Les contes d'Hoffmann

Globetrotter and presenter Barbara von Belau, more than unknown from shows like "Neues aus dem Alten Land" (News from the Old Country) or "Tide-TV," invites you together with keyboardist and sound veteran Janne Jens Käitala and Gunnar H., the Amber Room of good music: As traveling Finland whisperers, they are to build musical Baltic Sea bridges and, at the same time, lure wealthy vacationers to the far north, even if they've never been there themselves. No matter – no one has to know. And so they warmly welcome the audience to a quirky musical information evening about a place of longing between storm and calm, with songs full of shanty yearning and sauna spirit. What the three don't yet know, however, is that for them, this might be their last chance to discover the "Kuhmo" within themselves and, in the process, make the catch of a lifetime – "Finn your luck!" – that's so easy to say, but don't we all want that?

Lapskaos

In his play "Birthday Candles," American playwright Noah Haidle spins a thread of life on which birthdays (some more, some less solemnly celebrated) are strung like pearls on a necklace. 100 years of life – 100 birthday cakes that Ernestine bakes each year according to her mother's recipe as she searches for her place in the universe. At 18, Ernestine is convinced she'll find that place on a theater stage, far away from her tranquil hometown, but as the saying goes, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Ernestine starts a family with her childhood sweetheart, experiences highs and lows, and ultimately finds herself reflected in the questions, wishes, and dreams of those who come after her.

Birthday Candles

With "Between the Bars" and "Between the 80's," Plewka and Schmedtje have enchanted their audiences in numerous sold-out shows over the past few years. In early 2026, the duo will return to the stage with "Between the Lights," a new program including an EP. Their thematic focus is on songs about death. Songs like "Killing Me Softly," "The End," and "Wonderful Life" guide the listener through an emotional journey of their own existence. Not without, of course, celebrating the joyful moments in between. An evening that approaches farewell in a soulful way, sometimes in a major key, sometimes in a minor. There will be pulling, healing, tears, and laughter. In the end, it's an invitation to life. Sing along!

Plewka & Schmedtje Between the Lights

Sometimes gently swaying, sometimes wildly stomping – this is how the successive waltzes in Carl Maria von Weber's "Invitation to the Dance" sound. With this piece, originally composed for piano, Weber created a depiction of the intoxicating love of dance of his time in 1819. The Spanish composer Manuel de Falla – the music world will celebrate his 150th birthday in 2026 – was so fascinated by a performance of the "Ballets Russes" in Paris that he wanted to create music for a ballet himself. Inspired by the dancer Pastore Imperio from his homeland, de Falla studied the tradition of Andalusian flamenco and the singing style of "cante jondo" and, on this basis, wrote the ballet "El amor brujo" (The Love Spell) for voice and orchestra in the winter of 1914/15, from which he transformed a year later into a symphonic suite with voice. The solo part is played by Ieva Prudnikovaite, who is currently delighting audiences as Carmen at the Lübeck Theater.

5th  Symphony Concert

Music and Congress Hall Lübeck

What would YOU be willing to make a pact with the devil for? – Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Bearskin," the inclusive Mixed Pickles theater group presents a fast-paced fairy tale about seduction, exclusion, and the good in humanity. With a spooky twist, glitter, and music.

The Bearskin

The godfather of the Beat Generation, William S. Burroughs, rock legend Tom Waits, and director Robert Wilson created "The Black Rider" in Hamburg in 1990: a dreamlike play about the price of escapism. Seemingly opposing worlds blend within it: the associative, often drug-induced lyrics of William S. Burroughs, driven by sound and rhythm, the raw, dissociative sound of Tom Waits, and a well-known German folk tale.

The Black Rider The Casting of the Magic Bullets

3rd  Chamber Concert

Hoghehus Lübeck

A suddenly awakened desire throws Sergeant Don José off his usual path. A woman who unexpectedly throws a flower at his feet gives him access to a world he had previously closed off to. The woman's name is Carmen, and she is a social outsider. What she wants, she takes; when she loves, she does so with every fiber of her being. A coincidence brings Carmen and José together, or perhaps a misunderstanding. For José, erotically inexperienced, believes that the flower thrown at him has attracted Carmen's attention. To be with her, he accepts military demotion and imprisonment; in fact, he ultimately risks his entire civil existence for a relationship with Carmen. But after a short time, she has had enough of him and wants to break up with him. Carmen uncompromisingly asserts her right to freedom and self-determination.

Carmen

Articles & News