Younghwi Ko

Oper Leipzig

The Cheshire Cat. The Mad Hatter. Lewis Carroll's tale of adventure is full of whimsical, fantastical creatures. And it all begins with the White Rabbit: Alice follows him down a rabbit hole, and arrives in a curious land teeming with peculiar beings and the most absurd places. In no time at all, she joins a bizarre tea party and plays croquet with the Queen of Hearts. But the most puzzling of all is Alice herself. As she bravely takes on Wonderland's challenges, she is forced to answer the question: "Who in the world am I?"

Alice in Wonderland

Musikalische Komödie

Fire, water, storm - every child here knows this game. But how do children play in Japan or Taiwan? The children's choir goes on a musical search for games in all corners of the world. The program tells of children's games, of experiencing time, of dreaming. Children have their say, ask questions, romp around and take the audience with them into the world of wondrous things. The children's choir sings, plays and dances songs for young and old. Children's songs to hum along, join in and with movement. The children's choir is supported and accompanied by Maria Hinze (piano) and Peter A. Bauer (percussion). Who will come along? And who will play and sing along?

A participatory concert by the children's choir

»Die Fledermaus« is considered the ultimate operetta, full of waltzes, polkas, who-with-whom, champagne, mistaken identity, masquerading and fraternization. How refreshing it is that Gabriel von Eisenstein, eager to have some quick fun with young ladies before he goes to prison, is repaid tit-for-tat by his wife Rosalinde: with her old vocal coach Alfred. Only a tenor could be so audacious! Adele, the maid, has high aspirations, but first she attends the ball as Miss Olga in the dress of her gracious lady. And this is how all the lovable characters, who are not too concerned with the truth, converge at the ball of Prince Orlofsky. He is young, rich, bored – such a retaliatory action by Dr. Falke is just what he needs. The latter has a score to settle with Eisenstein: "This is the way the bat takes revenge!" Orlofsky's ball becomes a stage. And in the end they all meet again in prison. Here Herr von Eisenstein learns who his close pal, the Chevalier Chagrin, really is and what the doppelganger in his dressing gown is all about. Eisenstein's acquittal is celebrated with champagne, because after all, he alone was to blame, was he not?

The bat

Holidays at last: check into a beautiful hotel and unwind – ideally with a view of the water. But no: at the hotel “Weißes Rössl” (“The White Horse Inn”) on the shores of the lake “Wolfgangsee”, things are going haywire. Farewell relaxation! The inn is completely packed, work and personal life become indistinguishable, and both staff and guests are wildly in love, which, due to mix-ups and secrets, keeps ending in chaos. After layoffs, dismissals and tears, however, a few things can be clarified – both professionally and privately. The next holiday is bound to follow!

The White Horse Inn

Whether Undine, Rusalka, or Ariel, mermaids have historically been all the rage in children's literature – and the present is no exception. These creatures – half-human, half-animal – that move between worlds provide endless fascination. After Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals, The Little Mermaid is one of the most performed orchestral works for children in the German-speaking world.

The Little Mermaid

With »Mozart / Rachmaninoff«, the Leipzig Ballet pays tribute to Uwe Scholz, whose choreographic work characterizes the city like a silent echo. His art is shaped music, a language of light, space and movement that captures the ephemeral while also exploring the eternal.

Mozart / Rachmaninoff

Three worlds, three waters, three lives merge into one breath: Anouk, a young writer, endures a relentless struggle to draw breath, as she suffers from cystic fibrosis. This struggle leads her on a journey into the past, to another country, to another woman. She is spellbound as she reconstructs the mysterious story of the »Inconnue de la Seine«, the unknown body found in the Seine shrouded in secrecy. As Anouk immerses herself in this French tragedy, she recognises the connections between her own life, that of the unknown woman, and that of a Norwegian dollmaker. The man, scarred by the loss of his drowned son, designs a doll that can be used to learn mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He selects the death mask of the »Inconnue de la Seine« for the doll's visage, and its smile will now save lives. This opera links three lives across the flow of time. The Leipzig-based composer Bernd Franke, who explores musical, social and topographical boundaries, has created a life-affirming, hope-filled opera that crosses times and countries. In the end, everything is one and we are a part of it.

Coming up for air

A Russian tsar, a small-town mayor, a shipyard worker, and three foreign diplomats meet in the time of Peter I. In the middle of it all, Marie fights with heart and mind for her groom. Like many of Lortzing's other operas, Zar und Zimmermann premiered in Leipzig. One of the Musical Comedy's artistic goals is to cultivate Lortzing's works, in order to keep the composer alive and well in the musical city of Leipzig.

Tsar and Carpenter

This opera, which Puccini himself considered his favorite and best work, moves everyone who hears it. In the summer of 1900, Puccini saw David Belasco’s theater piece »Madame Butterfly« in a London Theater, and was indelibly touched. It was a tragic story of very human proportions, coupled with an old-fashioned dose of Far East exoticism. As Belasco did, Puccini set his opera in the present, in the year 1904, the year of its world premiere. The strict rules and customs of Japanese society are confronted by the western world, in the form of the American marine lieutenant Pinkerton. For him, his fictitious marriage with the young geisha Cio-Cio San, also called »Butterfly«, is nothing more than an exotic romantic adventure. For her, though, it is the chance of a lifetime: Fascinated by the notion of the different, freer world that her lover could give her, she’s ready to break with everything she’s ever known. She believes steadfastly that Pinkerton will return to her, even long after he has left Japan. And when he finally does return, after three years, it spells disaster.

Madama Butterfly

With Tristan und Isolde, Richard Wagner created his most radical and most sensual opera. Two lovers are drawn into a whirlwind of desire and passion. Their only possible salvation is death. Wagner wrote a timeless, eternal “infinite melody,” or “infinite melody,” that would forever irrevocably change the course of music history.

Tristan and Isolde

On four Wednesday evenings, art and music come together in the distinctive atmosphere of the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig. Musicians from the Orchestra and Chorus of the Musical Comedy present varied programs, in different musical constellations, resulting in a unique sound experience. The audience is invited to experience this interplay of space, sound, and image with all their senses.

Echoes in the Museum

Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts

With stirring music and arguably the greatest love story in the literary canon, “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the most popular ballets of all time. The tale of young, impetuous love and deep-seated, age-old hatred has been adapted countless times for stage, film and television.

"Song and Love"