From prodigy to master: Erich Wolfgang Korngold's "Violanta" premieres on January 25, 2026, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Experience a psychological drama of revenge and passion, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles.
Between Devotion and Desire: On November 15, 2024, Paul Hindemith’s one-act opera Sancta Susanna returns to the stage at Berlin’s Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Featuring the Mecklenburg Opera Choir and the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin under Marit Strindlund, this intense work is brought to life with a fresh, controversial perspective.
About life and love in dark times: The work Canti di vita e d'amore by Luigi Nono will be performed at Musikfest Berlin on 10 September 2024. The orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin will perform under the direction of Donald Runnicles, with Lilit Davtyan (soprano) and Thomas Cilluffo (tenor) taking on the vocal roles.
A witty play about fashion and mutual appreciation: Messeschlager Gisela (“Trade Fair Sensation Gisela”) by Gerd Natschinski celebrates its premiere at the Komische Oper Berlin on 8 June 2024. The operetta can be seen in the tent at the Rotes Rathaus. The witty production is by Axel Ranisch, with Adam Benzwi as musical director. The title role of Gisela is played by the well-known satire artist Gisa Flake.
On 10 February 2024, the Staatstheater Hannover will present Aribert Reimann's Lear, one of the most significant operas of the 20th century. The production will be directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, and the music will be conducted by Stephan Zilias.
A new concerto for a celebration: Peter Eötvös's 80th birthday will be celebrated with a symposium and gala concert in Paris next weekend. Among other works by the Hungarian composer, his new Harp Concerto will see its world premiere. Eötvös wrote the concerto for harp and orchestra for the virtuoso Xavier de Maistre (pictured), who will perform it for the first time on 18 January with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Gergely Madaras at the Maison de le Radio et de la Musique.
His symphonic series is expanding: Turkish composer Fazıl Say has written his Symphony No. 6. The large-scale orchestral work is subtitled 100 Yaşında Bir Çocuk ("A 100-Year-Old Child") and will be premiered on October 12 in the Great Hall of the Zorlu PSM Cultural Center in Istanbul. The Borusan Istanbul Filarmoni Orkestrası will be conducted by Can Okan.
Shipwreck at the airport: Hans Werner Henze's oratorio Das Floß der Medusa (‘The Raft of the Medusa’) opens the new season at the Komische Oper Berlin. In Hangar 1 of Tempelhof Airport, Tobias Kratzer stages the great question of humanity, which revolves around the calculated drowning of underprivileged people on the high seas. The premiere will take place on September 16, 2023 under the musical direction of Titus Engel.
With Toshio Hosokawa’s new violin concerto Prayer, the composer reflects on the passing of modern events and their overall influence on the life of the soul. The piece is dedicated to world renowned soloist Daishin Kashimoto who will perform it for the first time on 02 March 2023 with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Paavo Järvi at the Philharmonie Berlin.
“When I sit in front of a sheet of manuscript paper, I don’t keep thinking ‘you have to invent something new’. Not at all. My head is full of harmonies, connections and combinations that have never been heard before. My problem is to find forms for them. I am now in a stage of fighting to find these new forms.” - Jörg Widmann
english 
deutsch 
français 
