(Credit: Opernhaus Zürich official website / Basel.com)

In light of the Swiss government’s announcement on cultural events, two major opera companies in Switzerland have announced alterations to their 2020-21 seasons.

Opernhaus Zürich announced that it will stay closed until the end of January 2021 at the very least. The opera house was forced to cancel January performances after new Swiss federal regulations allowed cultural events with up to only five people.

This extension resulted in cancellations of Rossini’s opera “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” as well as Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.”

Theater Basel has announced that it will shut down until Jan. 22, 2021, following the new Swiss federal COVID-19 regulations.

Switzerland is undergoing a second COVID-19 wave, which has so far stabilized on a very high level of new daily infections, pressuring ICU’s in the country. The country reported over 3,200 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 8, 2020.