Welcome
Dear audience members
After two successful ballet premieres and acclaimed opera revivals over the past few months, the next world premiere is just around the corner with Detlev Glanert’s »Die Jüdin von Toledo« (The Jewish Woman of Toledo).
The work has been staged by the internationally celebrated director Robert Carsen, here working on his first project at the Semperoper. Carsen previously directed the premiere of Glanert’s »Oceane« at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. An outstanding cast featuring Heidi Stober as Rahel, Lilly Jørstad as her sister Esther, Christoph Pohl as King Alfonso VIII, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Eleanor of England and Markus Marquardt as Manrique will perform under the baton of Jonathan Darlington.
In the opera, Rachel’s sister Esther tells us that »[t]he world becomes hell for all those who sacrifice their humanity«. – a powerful idea whose truth has unfortunately become ever more relevant in view of current events. Detlev Glanert and his librettist Hans-Ulrich Treichel have drawn inspiration in their work from the tragedy of the same name by Austrian playwright Franz Grillparzer, who, reflecting a pessimistic streak amongst his countrymen, wrote the prophetic sentence that still moves us today: »The path of modern education goes from humanity via nationalism to bestiality.« That was in 1849. Is the situation different in 2024?
It is with great concern that we see our democratic values, which are rooted in diversity, international goodwill and tolerance, being openly attacked by radical right-wing forces. The fact that neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists, including leading members of the political party »Alternative für Deutschland« (AfD) and the group »Werteunion«, met in Potsdam to reputedly discuss the outlines of a so-called »master plan« to expel people of diverse ethnic backgrounds from Germany brings back memories of the direst chapter in this country’s history.
As an international cultural institution bringing together creative individuals from more than 30 nations, we cannot remain silent. And so we fully back the peaceful demonstrations in support of the rule of law, human dignity and tolerance shown to all peoples of the world.
Your
Peter Theiler
Intendant of the Staatsoper Dresden
Our tip
Opera and Ballet 2023/24
Variable Package
Der Freischütz
La bohème
La Cenerentola / Cinderella
La sonnambula
La traviata
L’elisir d’amore/ The Elixir of Love
Les Contes d’Hoffmann / Tales of Hoffmann
L’Orfeo
Die tote Stadt
Don Carlo
Elektra
Pique Dame / The Queen of Spades
Dornröschen / The Sleeping Beauty
Benvenuto Cellini
A Swan Lake
Classics by Balanchine / Peck / Tharp
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
White Darkness
Káťa Kabanová / Katja Kabanowa
About the Semperoper
Semperoper
History of the Semperoper
A house full of tradition
The history of opera in Dresden goes back to the opening of the city’s first opera house in 1667.