Staatstheater Kassel will present a new staging of Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elias,” directed by Timofei Kuljabin and conducted by Ainārs Rubiķis, with a premiere on Dec. 5 at INTERIM.

Kuljabin and Rubiķis, Kassel’s general music director, have been artistic collaborators since a 2014 production of “Tannhäuser” in Novosibirsk. That production led to court proceedings and the dismissal of the company’s then opera director, and it was withdrawn from the repertoire despite protests over artistic freedom. Kuljabin, who left Russia in 2022 after publicly protesting the war in Ukraine, and Rubiķis continue their partnership with the Kassel production.

The team includes set designer Oleg Golovko, costume designer Vlada Pomirkovanaja, lighting designer Oskars Pauliņš, dramaturgs Teresa Martin and Ilya Kukharenko, chorus director Marco Zeiser Celesti, and extra chorus director Anne-Louise Bourion.

Filippo Bettoschi sings the title role. The cast also includes Johannes Strauß as Obadiah, Marta Kristín Friðriksdóttir as the Widow, Ilseyar Khayrullova as a Voice, Annabelle Kern as the Angel, Maren Engelhardt as the Queen, Björn Edelmann as Ahab, Christian Backhaus as a Voice, and Kyotaro Weitzel and Leonardo Kehl alternating as the Boy.

The production runs through March 17, 2027.