Fairytale and Liebestod in Leipzig

The month of November at Oper Leipzig already presages both Christmas and wintertime. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale »The Little Girl with the Matchsticks« lays the foundation for the Leipzig Ballet’s new creation »Paradise Lost«. This choreographic premiere will take place on November 17 at the Opera House and is exceptional from a musical point of view, too. In his 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning composition »The Little Match Girl Passion«, David Lang interweaves the fairytale with texts from Bach’s »St Matthew Passion«. Together with Joseph Haydn’s »Missa in angustiis« from 1798, known as the »Nelson Mass«, the story of an abandoned and overlooked girl becomes the inspiration and starting point for Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer Mario Schröder. Matthias Foremny, Oper Leipzig’s first permanent guest conductor, leads the large cast of four soloists from the opera ensemble, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Oper Leipzig’s opera choir and youth chorus.

Three dramatic Liebestod scenarios are featured in this month’s revivals: Richard Wagner’s »Tristan und Isolde« directed by Enrico Lübbe – on November 5 with a first-class cast including Christiane Libor and Daniel Frank in the title roles, Egils Silins as Marke and Kammersängerin Ulrike Schneider as Brangäne! Giuseppe Verdi’s »La Traviata« in Andreas Homoki’s legendary production – on November 10 starring Sarah Traubel as Violetta. And Woody Allen’s »Bullets Over Broadway« featuring swing, jazz and blues sounds – on November 18 shot to perfection in the Musikalische Komödie. Tip for fans of this Oper Leipzig’s special venue for musicals and operettas: a special exhibition about and for Leipzig as a city of music is still running throughout November in the city archives (Stadtarchiv) exploring the history of Leipzig’s operetta ensemble. The Friends and Sponsors of the Musikalische Komödie Leipzig will present a musical theme evening about Jewish artists at the new operetta theatre on November 10 and historical audio and visual recordings on November 27.

Ticket information

All ticket requests can be accommodated online at oper-leipzig.de or via the Oper Leipzig visitor service Tue – Fri 10 am to 6 pm, Sat 12 noon to 6 pm, at both the box office in the Opera House and by telephone under + 49 (0)341-12 61 261. Admission to the city archives is free.

www.oper-leipzig.de/en