Brigitte Fassbaender is set to be added the 2026 lifetime achievement award from the German Theater Prize DER FAUST.

The jury that voted to honor Fassbaender will recognize her exceptional character who, throughout her career, performed all the major roles in her vocal category. She was well known for her work in Octavian in “Der Rosenkavalier,” Cherubino in “The Marriage of Figaro,” and Orlofsky in “Die Fledermaus.”

Since leaving the stage she has also become a distinguished director and has helped foster young talent through masterclasses worldwide.

Regarding her award Fassbaender said, “At times in my life, I am struck by the realization that two quotes from ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ – ‘I cannot cease to marvel’ and the line I have so often sung, ‘I have been granted the honor’—apply with absolute conviction! My deepest thanks for this honor, and for the fact that I am still able to marvel.”

In a statement, Dorothea Hartmann, chair of the jury meeting and co-chair of the Artistic Committee at the German Stage Association said, “Brigitte Fassbaender has shaped the world of musical theater like few other singers of her generation. Her transition into directing and her subsequent long tenure as Artistic Director of the Tiroler Landestheater served as both an inspiration and a model for many women to venture into a profession that was, at the time, still heavily male-dominated.”