(Credit: © Semperoper Dresden/Klaus Gigga)

The Semperoper Dresden has announced the cancellation of all performances until Nov. 25, 2021.

Among the canceled performances are Puccini’s “La bohème,” and the double bill of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” The decision was brought forth after consultations between the intendants of the Saxon State Theaters and the Saxon Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism.

“The high rates of infection which are currently threatening all sections of the population have forced us to temporarily suspend all performances. Under these circumstances, we can no longer offer our audiences and our staff any degree of certainty in planning upcoming events,” said the Intendant of the Semperoper Peter Theiler and the Director of the Staatsschauspiel Dresden Joachim Klement in their joint statement. “In the current dangerous situation, our joint decision reflects the obligation that we as Saxon State Theatres have to the whole of society to help break the chain of infection in the current pandemic,” concluded Theiler and Klement.

Germany logged 52,970 new COVID-19 cases on Nov. 18, 2021. Outgoing German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that a new general lockdown could not be excluded given the grave epidemiological situation.