(Photo: Jan Windszus Photography) With “Orlando,” Olga Neuwirth has not simply written an opera based on a Virginia Woolf novel, but a sprawling epic that seeks to be everything at once: a parable on gender, a cultural-historical chronicle, a political warning, a queer manifesto, a critique of the media, and a musical panorama of Western modernity. From the very beginning, {…}
Komische Oper Berlin announces its 2026-27 season. The season opens with the premiere of Reimann’s “Lear.” Performance Date: September 16, 2026 Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” is directed by Barrie Kosky. Performance Dates: October 9 – December 31, 2026 The return of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” is next. Performance Dates: October 24 – December 25, 2026 Franz Wittenbrink’s children’s opera, “Pippi {…}
(Credit: Jan Windszus) General Music Director James Gaffigan has extended his contract with the Komische Oper Berlin. The conductor will continue with the opera company for an additional three years, continuing through Summer 2030. Gaffigan was appointed as General Music Director during the 2023-24 season and recently conducted new productions of “Salome,” “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” and the joint Mahler 8 {…}
(Photo: Jan Windszus Photography) The Komische Oper Berlin’s colonization of Tempelhof Airport has by now hardened into ritual. Once again, Hangar 4 – cavernous, echoing with its aviation past – becomes a stage for the improbable. Tickets to “Jesus Christ Superstar” sold out so quickly, that two shows were added to meet the demand, proof that the company has mastered {…}
(Photo: Jan Windszus Photography) Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony in E-flat major, often dubbed the “Symphony of a Thousand” did its moniker justice this time: It was put on by the Komische Oper Berlin in the huge Hangar 4 at the former Tempelhof Airport and counted 1030 participants – taking up the entire center stage plus two grandstands for the choirs. {…}
(Credit: Monika Rittershaus) Barrie Kosky’s new production of Philip Glass’s 1983 opera “Akhnaten,” running through April 20 at the Komische Oper Berlin, represents a long-overdue homecoming. This is the city most intimately connected with “Akhnaten’s” historical legacy; the archaeological treasures of the enigmatic Pharoah’s destroyed city, Tel-El-Amarna, excavated by Ludwig Borchardt with funding from the philanthropist James Simon in 1912 {…}
The Komische Oper Berlin has announced its 2025-26 season. Premieres The children’s opera “Conrad or The factory-made boy” by Samuel Penderbayne will star Mengqi Zhang, Andreja Schneider, Philipp Meierhöfer, Ulrike Helzel, Johannes Dunz, and Junoh Lee. Anne Hinrichsen conducts the production by Ruth Brauer-Kvam. Performance Dates: Oct. 10-Dec. 26, 2025 James Gaffigan conducts a new production of Strauss’ “Salome.” The {…}
The Komische Oper Berlin has canceled its production of “Mein Friend Bunbury.” Via social media, the company said, “We would like to start the year with some good news, but due to the austerity constraints in the ongoing Berlin household, it is with a heavy heart that we have to cancel the planned production of ‘Mein Friend Bunbury,’ which would {…}
Following planned arts budget cuts in Berlin, the three major Berlin opera houses, in collaboration with ballet and theater companies, released a statement. In the statement, the companies said, “We are dismayed by today’s cuts to the cultural budget. The Senate is taking the breath out of cultural life in the city. Berlin lives through its culture. The cuts that {…}
(Photo: Jan Windszus Photography) Ever since its premiere in 1742, George Frederic Handel’s “Messiah” has been considered a work of vocal and intellectual power. All the more so when it is performed in an airport hangar, with over 350 choir members, dramatically staged, on a stage over 180 feet wide. The Komische Oper Berlin hashtags #everything extraordinary – in large {…}
The Komische Oper has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the operatic performances. Premieres George Petrou conducts Händel’s “Messiah” with Damiano Michieletto directing. The soloists will include Penny Sofroniadou, Julia Grüter, Rachael Wilson, Katharina Bradić, Julien Behr, Rupert Charlesworth, Philipp Meierhöfer, and Tijl Faveyts. Performance Dates: Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2024 Franz Wittenbrink’s kinderoper “Die kleine Hexe” will {…}