Name: Theater Festival
Start: 2025-09-21T11:00:00
Location: Cologne Opera

Oper Köln

Professor Beelzebub Irrwitzer is a dreadful sorcerer and poisoner, who takes pleasure in causing a lot of destruction in nature. But his devilish client is not at all satisfied with him this year, far too few Evil deeds, finds Maledictus Made, the devilish messenger. Therefore, at midnight, Irrwitzer's time will run out, unless he quickly manages to secure a few more disasters in the world. Now only the satan-archaeo-lying-alcoholic Wish Punch can help him, which at the stroke of midnight turns all good wishes into their opposite. However, Irrwitzer only has half of the parcel containing the recipe; the other half is with his aunt, Tyrannja Vamperl, who happens to be visiting. She has exactly the same problem, and so both are now brewing the highly dangerous Wish Punch. Fortunately, Tomcat Maurizio and Crow Krista recognizes the danger and they jointly take up the fight against the two villains, even though they initially do not like each other at all. But time is running out and the task is difficult...

The Wishing Punch

Cologne Opera

A colorful gingerbread house in the middle of the forest, in which two hungry children seek refuge. But there lives an evil witch with gruesome baking recipes. Engelbert Humperdinck's most famous opera is full of contrasts, both on stage and in the music. It combines traditional children's songs with Wagnerian orchestral sound, creating a magical soundscape that captivates both young and adult audiences alike. The fairy-tale opera, in which the siblings successfully overcome danger together, returns to the stage in the 2005 production by Jürgen Rose. It is conducted by the new Cologne General Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

Hansel and Gretel

"Take me to the ball!" pleads Cinderella Angelina. However, her wish meets with rejection by her stepfather Don Magnifico and the selfish stepsisters Instead, she is treated like a maid, while the spoiled amily dreams of wealth - although everything is on the brink of ruin. But behind this false world lies a more beautiful one: A prince awaits Angelina and true values ​​triumph over false appearances. In the end, justice prevails: Angelina forgives her family and becomes not only a princess but also as a wise-hearted regent. In LA CENERENTOLA, Gioacchino Rossini combines virtuosic bel canto with the dream of a fairer world. Cecilia Ligorio's enthusiastically received production from the year 2022 returns to the schedule, under the musical direction by Matteo Beltrami.

La Cenerentola

Sharon Eyal and her dance aesthetic have been triumphant on European stages for almost two decades. CORPS DE WALK is a piece from the time before the Israeli choreographer's major international breakthrough. Commissioned by the contemporary Norwegian dance company Carte Blanche, it premiered in 2011 and explores the dangerous eroticism of the masses. The dancers resemble androgynous-looking aliens in their beige bodysuits, white contact lenses, and identical hairstyles. These aliens move precisely in geometric marching formations, oscillating between robotic parades and ecstatic pagan fertility rites. Together with her partner and techno artist Gai Behar and DJ Ori Lichtik, Eyal parodies, not least, the large group scenes of classical ballet, contrasting them with a contemporary counterpart that seems to have come directly from the dance floor of a futuristic techno club. Fifteen years after its premiere, CORPS DE WALK is being revived by the Hessian State Ballet, the company whose director, Bruno Heynderickx – who held the same position at Carte Blanche at the time – originally commissioned Sharon Eyal to create the piece. Sharon Eyal danced with the Batsheva Dance Company from 1990 to 2008, where she choreographed her first pieces. From 2003 to 2004, she served as the company's Associate Artistic Director and as resident choreographer until 2012. In 2009, Eyal began working internationally for other companies. Together with her long-time artistic partner Gai Behar and Ori Lichtik, she founded her own ensemble, LEV, in 2013. From 1999 to 2005, Gai Behar produced live music and underground events in Israel, combined with large-scale techno raves. Since its founding, the company has performed on all major stages and dance festivals. Sharon Eyal has received numerous awards, including the prestigious "Fedora Prize" and the "Der Faust" theater prize.

Body of Walk

"E LEVVE FÖR KÖLLE," the divertissement for Konrad Adenauer's 150th birthday, is a matter close to the heart of the Cäcilia Wolkenburg stage ensemble of the Cologne Men's Choir. After all, the celebrant was an honorary member of the association and regularly sang his birthday hymns by "his KMGV." His son, Dr. Max Adenauer, served as KMGV president for 13 years; his grandson, Konrad Adenauer, is a member of the board of trustees. The choir will kick off the Adenauer Year 2026 with the musical accompaniment for the memorial service on January 4th in Cologne Cathedral, before the divertissement "E LEVVE FÖR KÖLLE" premieres on January 18th, 2026.

E Levve för Kölle (A Life for Cologne)

"Oh, what one often has to hear or read about naughty children!" So begins the famous story by Wilhelm Busch about the naughty brothers Max and Moritz and their pranks. Against impudence and schadenfreude, there seems to be basically no remedy, as Wilhelm Busch already lamented, and in times of social media there are plenty of opportunities to harass others and to get attention for it. The Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk and librettist Øystein Wiik look with today's perspective and a great treasure trove of musical quotations on the old story and recount seven equally common and amusing pranks, with which Max and Moritz, in cartoon style, annoy the descendants of Widow Bolte, Teacher Lämpel and Tailor Böck. The last prank of the naughty boys is just one too many as today. But: He who laughs last, laughs loudest.

Max and Moritz

Dream Team

Today marks a joyous day at the castle. Finally, the wedding of Figaro and Susanna is set to take place, both of whom are in the service of Count Almaviva and are being supported by him. Everything seems perfect - and is, of course, only half the truth. In fact, the Count is after Susanna and tries to play his employees off against each other wherever possible. At the same time, he believes he must keep an eye on his lonely wife, as well as his pubescent nephew Cherubino, who continuously puts him in compromising situations. The longer the crazy day lasts, the less the Count seems to be master in his own house. Only when everyone unites against him are the rules of the game changed. But until that moment arrives, until Figaro and Susanna are finally wed, until the Count and Countess are reconciled, until a genuine plea for forgiveness for wrongful actions is spoken, the most beautiful and profound human comedy in opera unfolds: Mozart’s LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. Here, reason, intrigue, and emotional desire are perfectly balanced when it comes to bringing order to the emotional chaos that has always connected people. For his first Mozart libretto, the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte took on a brand-new and quite delicate drama in 1786, Beaumarchais' French comedy "La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro," a critical reflection of the conditions in the Ancien Régime. Mozart embraced the revolutionary idea, after all, he had just settled in Vienna as a free artist, and had a clear vision of how he wanted to live as a citizen in a still feudal world. Far more important, however, are the love and respect that his music shows to every single character on stage, as Mozart ensures that each and every one - whether young or old, privileged or less privileged - receives their due. Mozart's masterful ensemble piece conducted by General Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Katharina Thoma, already known in Cologne for DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, directs this musical comedy that never goes out of style

Le Nozze di Figaro

This event format invites opera novices, professionals, and anyone interested to try their hand at acting based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Le Marriage of Figaro" and to find a playful, aesthetic approach to the plot, the music, the characters, and their relationships. Music theater educators from the Cologne Opera will lead the workshop with light steps and plenty of joy. Together, they will create a space for improvisation, stage acting, discussion, and reflection. Immediately following, those interested can join a 30-minute guided tour of the Central Library. A group performance in the evening rounds out the project and is included in the ticket price.

Searching for Opera Traces: The Marriage of Figaro

Interim Central Library on Hohe Straße

This event format invites opera novices, professionals, and anyone interested to try their hand at acting based on Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot" and find a playful, aesthetic approach to the plot, the music, the characters, and their relationships. Music theater educators from the Cologne Opera will lead the workshop with light steps and plenty of joy. Together, they will create a space for improvisation, stage acting, discussion, and reflection. Immediately following, those interested can join a 30-minute guided tour of the Central Library. A group performance in the evening rounds out the project and is included in the ticket price.

Searching for clues Opera: Turandot

Storm and thunder, unbridled passion, incest and divine wrath - all of this is already brewing in the first bars of the orchestral prelude to DIE WALKÜRE and gives a hint of what is to follow. In DIE WALKÜRE, the first day of the stage festival play DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, Wagner focuses on the generation of Wotan's descendants: On the sibling pair Siegmund and Sieglinde, who, after many years of separation, meet fatefully and fall in love with each other. And on the Valkyries, Brünnhilde and her eight sisters, whose task it is to bring the heroes fallen in battle to Valhalla. When Wotan's wife Fricka learns of the incestuous relationship between Siegmund and Sieglinde, she demands that Wotan put an end to it. So Wotan orders his favourite daughter Brünnhilde to overthrow Siegmund in his battle against his rival Hunding. But Brünnhilde protects Siegmund against Wotan’s command. As punishment, Wotan puts Brünnhilde into a deep sleep and ignites a circle of fire around her, which only one without fear can pass through...

Die Walküre

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

How does opera actually work? How are effects created on stage? And what's it like backstage? On September 21st, we'll be celebrating the Theaterfest and opening all the doors of the Staatenhaus. Between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., performances, concerts, a sing-along choir, tours, prop shows, costume sales, and much more are on the program.