Oper Leipzig’s 2022/ 2023 season under its new General Director Tobias Wolff will kick off on October 29 with Albert Lortzing’s “Undine”.
This also marks the beginning of the major Lortzing cycle, the highlight of which will be a festival in honour of the composer in 2026. “Undine” also marks Christoph Gedschold’s debut as the opera’s new Music Director. The opera has plenty of dialogue and is entrusted to theatre director Tilman Köhler. The main roles are sung by Sarah Traubel/ Olga Jelínková as Undine, Olena Tokar/ Mirjam Neururer as Bertalda and Joseph Dennis / Matthias Stier as Knight Hugo von Ringstetten. Further performances are planned for November 2022 and summer 2023.
The plot of this romantic Zauberoper (“magic opera”) revolves around the the pending marriage of a loving couple. Undine, the foster daughter of an elderly couple living in a secluded fishing hut, falls madly in love with Knight Hugo von Ringstetten. But her origins are shrouded in mystery: Undines are mermaids who can only acquire an immortal soul through the loving loyalty of a man. If this love is betrayed, the mermaid must kill the unfaithful man and return to the water from which she once emerged.
Albert Lortzing’s operas are performed less than they once were in German opera houses. With “Undine” and the Lortzing cycle, Oper Leipzig pays tribute to the composer’s life and work, which is closely tied to Leipzig. Many of his stage works premiered here until he was forced to leave the city 180 years ago. At the start of his directorship, Tobias Wolff has already made it his aim to spotlight this overlooked multi-talent of the genre Spieloper (“opera play”) for his audiences. Oper Leipzig will perform one of the composer’s stage works every year from this season onwards until the Festival in 2026 – be it in the opera house or at the Musikalische Komödie.
Oper Leipzig is a cosmopolitan house steeped in tradition. The magnificent building on Augustusplatz is one of the most important new theatres built during the GDR era. Today, Leipzig Opera is a multi-tier venue at two sites which, with opera, ballet, musical comedy, its extensive workshops and 360° education, not only helps to define the musical life of the culture city Leipzig but also reaches far beyond it. The new General Director, Tobias Wolff, and his team are committed to sustainability and diversity.
