The Staatsoper unter den Linden has unveiled its 2025–26 season, which balances new productions and key revivals while navigating financial constraints shared across Berlin’s cultural institutions. Under the direction of General Music Director Christian Thielemann and Artistic Director Elisabeth Sobotka, the season includes five new stagings, a world premiere, over 160 opera performances, and more than 20 concerts with the Staatskapelle Berlin.
The new season opens with two complete performances of Wagner’s monumental Ring cycle, conducted by Thielemann and staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov. The production features a leading cast including Michael Volle, Anja Kampe, Andreas Schager, and Mika Kares, with performances between 27 September and 10 October 2025.
New productions
The first premiere of the season arrives on 16 November 2025 with Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, returning to the Staatsoper after several decades. Lydia Steier directs, with Bertrand de Billy conducting a double cast featuring Pene Pati, Benjamin Bernheim, Nina Minasyan, Regina Koncz, and Clara Nadeshdin. Additional performances are scheduled for March 2026, conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud.
A highlight of the season is the world premiere of Das kalte Herz by Matthias Pintscher, based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff. The composer himself conducts, with James Darrah directing. The cast includes Samuel Hasselhorn, Alice Coote, Karen Cargill, and Sophia Burgos. The premiere is set for 11 January 2026.
The Cunning Little Vixen (Das schlaue Füchslein) by Leoš Janáček returns in a new production by Ted Huffman, with Simon Rattle on the podium. Starring Vera-Lotte Boecker and Magdalena Kožená, the premiere will take place on 28 February 2026.
For the Festtage 2026, the Staatsoper will present a new staging of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, directed by Rafael R. Villalobos and conducted by Enrique Mazzola. The cast features Anna Netrebko, Charles Castronovo, and Ludovic Tézier, with a premiere date of 29 March 2026.
The final premiere of the season is Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, conducted by former Staatskapellmeister Thomas Guggeis and staged by Andrea Moses. The cast includes Adela Zaharia, Serena Sáenz, and Siyabonga Maqungo. The production opens on 27 June 2026.
Revivals and anniversaries
Due to budget adjustments, a planned new production under Christian Thielemann has been cancelled. Instead, he will lead a revival of Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau in May 2026, following its premiere at the end of the previous season.
On 14 December 2025, Berg’s Wozzeck returns to the stage, exactly 100 years after its historic premiere at the Staatsoper. Thielemann conducts the revival of Andrea Breth’s 2011 production, and the centennial will be marked with a special two-day conference.
The repertoire includes Baroque works such as Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell, created in collaboration with Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, as well as operas by Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and others, in German, Italian, French, Russian, and English.
Concert highlights
Thielemann will also lead three major symphony concerts with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the New Year’s concert, and a special event titled Musik aus fernen Rundfunktagen. He returns to conduct the open-air concert Staatsoper für alle on 24 May 2026 at Bebelplatz, and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem for Good Friday during the Festtage.
Education and outreach
Following its success, the family production Freischütz für Kinder returns to the schedule, reinforcing the Staatsoper’s educational mission through its Junge Staatsoper projects and outreach initiatives.
With a mix of new works, iconic revivals, and a strong educational presence, the 2025–26 season reaffirms the Staatsoper’s position as one of Europe’s leading opera houses, even in the face of economic challenges.
Subscribe to our newsletter