Michael Richter was born in Vienna and studied orchestral conducting with Leopold Hager as well as répétition with Konrad Leitner at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. From 2000 to 2003, he was engaged as a solo répétiteur with conducting duties at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, where he conducted, among others, performances of "Le nozze di Figaro," "Die Fledermaus," and Prokofiev’s "Romeo and Juliet." Since 2003, Michael Richter has been engaged at the Zurich Opera House, initially as a solo répétiteur and since 2012 as head of studies. He has worked with renowned conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Ingo Metzmacher, Gianandrea Noseda, and Fabio Luisi, as well as with singers including Diana Damrau, Piotr Beczała, and Jonas Kaufmann, and has performed concerts as a pianist and conductor in various European countries. He has also worked for the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival. At the Zurich Opera House, he has most recently conducted, among others, the family operas "In 80 Tagen um die Welt" and "Alice in Wonderland," the chamber opera "Der Traum von Dir," "Hänsel und Gretel," as well as the ballet "Anna Karenina."
Pierangelo Valtinoni
Children’s opera
Libretto by Paolo Madron after Lewis Carroll
German version by Hanna Francesconi
From 12. November 2022 until 19. January 2023
-
Duration :
approx. 2 H. Inkl. Pause after approx. 50 Min. -
Language:
In German with German and English surtitles with German surtitles. -
More information:
Introduction 45 min before the performance.
Michael Richter
Nadja Loschky
Nadja Loschky studied music theatre directing at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. At the same time, she assisted Hans Neuenfels and worked as a freelance director at the Städtische Bühnen Osnabrück. In 2006, her production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" was invited to the Theatertreffen der Jugend in Berlin. In 2011, she made her debut with the world premiere of the family opera "Mikropolis" by Christian Jost at the Komische Oper Berlin. She directed, among others, "Faust" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at the Staatstheater Kassel, "Die Entführung aus dem Serail", "Così fan tutte" and "Le nozze di Figaro" at Theater Heidelberg, "Simon Boccanegra" at Theater Aachen, "La dame blanche" and "Macbeth" in Oldenburg, "Alcina" and "Norma" at Lucerne Theater, "Rusalka" and "Die Vögel" at Oper Köln, "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue" and "Die Passagierin" at Oper Graz as well as "Giulio Cesare" and "Lulu" at Oper Frankfurt. For "Madama Butterfly" at Theater Bielefeld, she was awarded the Götz Friedrich Prize in 2015 and was nominated as "Best Director" by the magazine Opernwelt for "Death in Venice". In 2018, she became resident director at Theater Bielefeld and has since staged, among others, "Jakob Lenz", "La traviata" and "Aida" as well as a new version of "Orpheus in the Underworld". In 2019, she took over the artistic direction of the music theatre and has been the theatre’s artistic director since the 2023 season. In 2026/27, "Carmen" in Dresden and "Rinaldo" at Theater an der Wien are planned. In addition to her directing work, Nadja Loschky teaches at the Hanns Eisler School of Music as well as at the UdK Berlin. At Opernhaus Zürich, she directed "Treasure Island" as well as the world premiere of Christian Jost’s "Red Lantern".
Yvonne Gebauer
The dramaturge, born in Berlin in 1972, studied German studies, philosophy, and religious studies at the Free University of Berlin. Since 1998, she has worked in theater and especially in opera. She maintained a working relationship of more than twenty years with director Hans Neuenfels. In addition, she has worked with directors such as Kazuko Watanabe, Johan Simons, Frank Hilbrich, Tobias Kratzer, David Hermann, and Amélie Niermeyer. Over the years, she has developed long-term collaborations with Claus Guth, Christof Loy, and Nadja Loschky, which continue to this day. Currently, she is in close working relationships with Ulrich Rasche, Shirin Neshat, and Barbara Lluch. She has taught dramaturgy at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg (Costume class Reinhard von der Thannen), at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna (Stage design class Erich Wonder), at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Directing class Amélie Niermeyer), at the Weissensee Academy of Art in Berlin (Stage design class Stefan Hageneier), and at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. From 2001 to 2008, she worked as a freelance contributor to the Süddeutsche Zeitung in the literature section. From 2009 to 2018, she worked at the Bavarian State Opera as visual dramaturge and was visual editor of the magazine "Max Joseph."
Étienne Pluss
Étienne Pluss was born in Geneva, where he initially ran an art gallery before beginning studies in stage design at the University of the Arts in Berlin. He started his theater career as a design assistant to Achim Freyer and Karl-Ernst Herrmann. Since 2000, he has been working as a freelance stage designer and has since worked at numerous renowned houses in both theater and opera. He has a close collaboration with Claus Guth. For Guth’s productions, he created, among others, the stage designs for Beat Furrer’s "Violetter Schnee" at Staatsoper Unter den Linden (FAUST Theater Prize 2019), "La bohème" at Opéra National de Paris, "Die Sache Makropulos" at Staatsoper Berlin, Dusapin’s "Il Viaggio, Dante" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, "Don Carlo" at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, "Salome" at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in cooperation with the Metropolitan Opera New York, as well as "Bluthaus" at the Bavarian State Opera. In addition, he designed the sets for Weinberg’s "Die Passagierin" at the Graz Opera and "Hamlet" at the Komische Oper Berlin, both directed by Nadja Loschky. For "Il trittico" at the Salzburg Festival, he collaborated with Christof Loy. With Richard Brunel, he realized the stage designs for Boesmans’ "On purge bébé" at La Monnaie in Brussels and Escaich’s opera "Shirine" in Lyon. With Evgeny Titov, he developed Shakespeare’s "Richard III." at Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf. In 1998, he was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen; the following year, he received the Kainz Medal for his work on Thomas Bernhard’s "Claus Peymann kauft sich eine Hose und geht mit mir essen." Most recently in Zurich, he designed the stage for "Alice."
Irina Spreckelmeyer
Irina Spreckelmeyer absolvierte ihr Bachelorstudium im Fach Kostümbild bei Prof. Maren Christensen an der Hochschule Hannover und schloss mit Jelineks Prinzessinnendramen das Studium ab. An der Universität der Künste Berlin setzte sie 2016 ihr Masterstudium bei Florence von Gerkan fort. In Zusammenarbeit mit der Deutschen Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB) sind seit 2017 verschiedene Kurzfilme entstanden, u.a. mit dem Regisseur Gian Suhner (Abdrift, Der Besuch) und mit der Regisseurin Florinda Frisardi (Die andere Welt). 2017 entwarf sie am Schauspiel Frankfurt die Kostüme für Andreas Kriegenburgs Inszenierung von Drei Tage auf dem Land. Seit 2017 arbeitet sie regelmässig mit Nadja Loschky zusammen. Nach der Oper Jakob Lenz am Theater Bielefeld führte sie ihr gemeinsamer Weg im März 2019 mit der Produktion Rusalka an die Oper Köln. In der Spielzeit 2019/20 setzte sich die Zusammenarbeit mit Aida am Theater Bielefeld fort, zudem schuf sie in der gleichen Spielzeit das Kostümbild von Wolfgang Nägeles Inszenierungen von Paradise Reloaded am Theater Bielefeld und Le vin herbé im Gartentheater Herrenhausen der Staatsoper Hannover. Für Mieczysław Weinbergs Oper Die Passagierin, die an der Oper Graz die Spielzeit 2020/21 eröffnete und für Die Vögel an der Oper Köln arbeitete Irina Spreckelmeyer erneut mit Nadja Loschky zusammen.
Franck Evin
Franck Evin, born in Nantes, moved to Paris at the age of 19 to study piano. At night he accompanied singers at the Café-Théâtre Le Connétable and also began to take an interest in lighting. He eventually decided to combine music and technology. Thanks to a scholarship from the French Ministry of Culture, he became assistant to the head of lighting at the Opéra de Lyon in 1983. There he worked with Ken Russell and Robert Wilson, among others. In 1986 he began working as an independent lighting designer at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus and obtained his master’s certificate in lighting in 1993. During this time he had a close collaboration with Werner Schröter and the conductor Eberhard Kloke. This was followed by productions in Nantes, Strasbourg, Paris, Lyon, Vienna, Bonn, Brussels and Los Angeles, among other places. From 1995 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the lighting department at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he was responsible for all new productions. Important artistic partners during this period included Andreas Homoki, Barrie Kosky, Calixto Bieito and Hans Neuenfels. In 2006 Franck Evin was awarded the German Theatre Prize "Opus" in the category of lighting design. From 2012 to 2025 he was Artistic Director of the lighting department at the Zurich Opera House. In addition to his work in Zurich, he continued to work on international productions at opera houses in Oslo, Stockholm, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Graz, as well as at the Opéra Bastille, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro La Fenice, the Vlaamse Opera and at the Bayreuth Festival.
Ernst Raffelsberger
Ernst Raffelsberger comes from Gmunden, Upper Austria. He studied music education and church music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna as well as choral conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. From 1983 to 1986 he was Kapellmeister of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. During this time, he led the ensemble in Vienna and on tours through Europe, South Africa, Canada, and the USA. From 1986, Ernst Raffelsberger was choral director and Kapellmeister at the Salzburg State Theatre (participating in the Salzburg Mozart Week and the Salzburg Festival). In 1989 he moved as choral director and Kapellmeister to the theatre in Freiburg/Breisgau. Since autumn 1993, Ernst Raffelsberger has been engaged at the Zurich Opera House as choral director. Here he has since supervised around 150 premieres and countless revivals and worked with many renowned conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Riccardo Chailly, Teodor Currentzis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, and Franz Welser-Möst. Guest performances with the Zurich Opera House have taken him to Vienna, London, Paris, and Tokyo. From summer 2012 he additionally began a ten-year activity as choral director of the Vienna State Opera Chorus Association at the Salzburg Festival. There he collaborated successfully with, among others, Riccardo Muti, Mariss Jansons, and Sir Simon Rattle. After Ernst Raffelsberger ended this work with the festival summer 2021, he has since 2025 once again been responsible, at Maestro Muti’s request, for choral preparation for his festival concerts in Salzburg. Numerous CD and DVD recordings document his work in Zurich as well as in Salzburg.
Beate Breidenbach
Beate Breidenbach studierte zuerst Violine, dann Musikwissenschaft und Slawistik in Nowosibirsk, Berlin und St. Petersburg. Nach Assistenzen an der Staatsoper Stuttgart und der Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin wurde sie als Musikdramaturgin ans Theater St. Gallen engagiert, drei Jahre später wechselte sie als Dramaturgin für Oper und Tanz ans Theater Basel. Anschliessend ging sie als Operndramaturgin ans Opernhaus Zürich, wo sie bisher mit Regisseurinnen und Regisseuren wie Calixto Bieito, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Andreas Homoki, Herbert Fritsch, Nadja Loschky, Kirill Serebrennikov und anderen arbeitete und die Entstehung neuer Opern von Pierangelo Valtinoni, Michael Pelzel, Samuel Penderbayne und Jonathan Dove betreute. Gastdramaturgien führten sie u.a. an die Potsdamer Winteroper (Le nozze di Figaro, Regie: Andreas Dresen), zum Schweizer Fernsehen (La bohème im Hochhaus) und 2021 an die Opéra de Génève (Krieg und Frieden, Regie: Calixto Bieito). Mit Beginn der Spielzeit 2026/27 wird sie als Chefdramaturgin an die Deutsche Oper Berlin wechseln.
Cast
Köchin Ursula Wiederkehr
Froschpage Helen Wills 12 Nov / 15 Dec / 01, 02, 08, 19 Jan
Froschpage Michelle Ploner 20, 27 Nov / 06, 09, 31 Dec
Fischpage Olivia Minder 12 Nov / 06, 09, 15 Dec / 02, 08, 19 Jan
Fischpage Lilli Borsos 20, 27 Nov / 31 Dec / 01 Jan
Sandra Hamaoui
The French-American soprano Sandra Hamaoui studied at the Conservatory in San Francisco and at the Juilliard School in New York. She is a prizewinner of numerous competitions; among others, she was a semifinalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and won first prize at the New England Regional Finals, the West Bay Opera League Competition, and the Mary Trueman Vocal Competition. Whilst still a student, she sang the title role in Gounod’s "Roméo et Juliette" with the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute as well as Adina in "L’elisir d’amore" with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music at the Kennedy Center. In the 2017/18 season, she was a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she sang, among others, Ninetta in "Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen" and Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte". As a member of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House, she appeared, among others, as Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro", Gilda in "Rigoletto", Nanetta in "Falstaff", Gretel in "Hänsel und Gretel", and Lisette in "La rondine". Her recent engagements include the title role in "Roméo et Juliette" with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Leïla in "Les pêcheurs de perles" at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as well as the opening of the 2024/25 season at the Hamburg State Opera with the leading role in "Trionfi" under Kent Nagano.
Lina Dambrauskaité
Lina Dambrauskaité stammt aus Litauen und hat ihre Gesangsaubildung bei Sigute Stonyte an der Litauischen Musik- und Theaterakademie abgeschlossen. Ausserdem belegte sie Kurse bei Lillian Watson und Jonathan Papp an der Royal Academy Opera, wo sie 2017 ihr Londoner Debüt als Zerlina in Mozarts Don Giovanni gab. Zuvor debütierte sie 2015 als Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro am Litauischen Nationaltheater für Oper und Ballett. Zu ihrem Repertoire gehören Thais in Händels Das Alexanderfest, Yniold in Debussys Pelléas et Mélisande sowie die Titelpartie in Händels Semele, Le Feu/Le Rossignol (L’Enfant et les sortilèges) und Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen). Zudem hat sie an der Weltaustellung «Expo 2015» in Mailand Litauen repräsentiert und diverse Solopartien in Konzerten gesungen. Im Frühjahr 2019 hat Lina Dambrauskaité die Titelrolle in Leoš Janáčeks Das schlaue Füchslein an der Royal Academy Opera gesungen und im Herbst 2019 Cunigonde (Candide) am Litauischen Nationaltheater. Ab 2019/20 war sie Mitglied des Internationalen Opernstudios Zürich und sang hier u.a. in Belshazzar, Konrad oder Das Kind aus der Konservenbüchse, der Zauberflöte und Iphigénie en Tauride. Für ihre Interpretation von Marie (La Fille du regiment) und von Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) erhielt sie 2022 den Golden Cross of the Stage.
Ruben Drole
Ruben Drole, bass-baritone, is from Winterthur and studied at the Zurich University of the Arts. In 2004, he joined the opera studio and in 2005 the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House, where he performed roles including Lucio Cinna (J.C. Bach’s "Lucio Silla"), Haly ("L’italiana in Algeri"), Argante ("Rinaldo"), Wurm ("Luisa Miller"), and Papageno in the production of "Die Zauberflöte" conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. As Papageno, he also made his debut at the Semperoper Dresden in 2015. Other projects with Harnoncourt included Kezal ("Die verkaufte Braut") and Haydn’s "Die Schöpfung" at Styriarte Graz, Beethoven’s "Christus am Ölberg" in Vienna and Lucerne, a Japan tour (Mozart’s "Requiem" and Handel’s "Messiah"), and Leporello ("Don Giovanni") at the Theater an der Wien. In the Zurich cycle of Mozart/Da Ponte operas directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf and conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, he appeared as Guglielmo ("Così fan tutte"), Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), and Leporello, the same roles he performed under Welser-Möst with the Cleveland Orchestra. At the Salzburg Festival 2012, he sang Achilla ("Giulio Cesare") and appeared in 2013 in Haydn’s "Il ritorno di Tobia" and Walter Braunfels’ "Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna." In Zurich, he has performed roles including Papageno ("Die Zauberflöte"), Alaskawolfjoe ("Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny"), Soldier ("Die Geschichte vom Soldaten"), Odysseus ("Die Odyssee"), Duchess/Caterpillar in "Alice im Wunderland," and Frank ("Die Fledermaus"). He also recently appeared in the ballet evening "Nachtträume."
Gary Martin
Gary Martin, Bariton, stammt aus den USA und war von 1993 bis 1995 Mitglied des Young Artists Program der Chicago Lyric Opera. Später kehrte er als Gast an dieses Haus zurück, u.a. an der Seite von Placido Domingo in Fedora. Sein Debüt an der Metropolitan Opera in New York erfolgte in der Spielzeit 1998/99 in Lohengrin und Carmen. Im Jahr 2000 kam er aus den USA für ein Festengagement am Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in München nach Europa. Bis 2012 sang er dort Partien wie Don Giovanni, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Il Conte (Le nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (Carmen), Giorgio Germont (La traviata), Ford (Falstaff), Tonio (Baiazzo), Jaroslav Prus (Die Sache Makropulos), Marcello (La bohème), The Traveller (Death in Venice), Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), Leander (Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen) sowie 2015 die Titelrolle in Detlev Glanerts Josef Süss. Im Juli 2013 gab er sein Debüt als Wotan, Wanderer und Gunther in Der Ring an einem Abend in Bayreuth. Im Oktober 2013 sang er Carmina Burana in Berlin mit den Berliner Symphonikern, 2014 die Titelrolle in Sweeney Todd am Gärtnerplatztheater. 2015 trat er in der Verdi-Trilogie an einem Abend (Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata) am Theater an der Rott auf; 2016 folgte am Theater Münster Ford in Verdis Falstaff. Zu seinem Repertoire im Konzertbereich gehören zudem Partien in Verdis Requiem, Händels Messias und Beethovens 9. Sinfonie. Am Opernhaus Zürich war er zuletzt in Alice im Wunderland und Jim Knopf zu hören.
Andrei Skliarenko
Andrei Skliarenko wurde in Russland geboren, wo er am Tschaikowsky Music College in Jekaterinburg und am Jekaterinburg State Mussorgsky Konservatorium studierte. Nach seinem Abschluss war er Mitglied des Young Artist Program am Bolschoi-Theater. Sein Debüt auf der Bühne des Bolschoi-Theaters gab er 2017 in der OperDer steinerne Gast von Alexander Dargomyschski. Er trat in zahlreichen Kammerkonzerten in der Beethoven Halle des Bolschoi-Theaters auf. 2018 war er in Rossinis Stabat Mater am Teatro Comunale di Cagli zu hören, 2019 nahm er beim Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi teil. Im selben Jahr sang er Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) in der Suzhou Jinji Lake Concert Hall in China. Er gewann 2014 den 2. Preis der Tolyatti International Music Competition, 2016 bekam er das Diplom «Beste Gesangsleistung» der militärischen Streitkräfte der Russischen Föderation und war 2017 Preisträger des Wettbewerbs der Gesangsabsolventen Russlands. Seit 2020/21 ist er Mitglied des Internationalen Opernstudios am Opernhaus Zürich und war hier in Boris Godunow, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, in L’incoronazione di Poppea sowie zuletzt in Il trovatore zu sehen. 2022 gastierte er ausserdem am Theater Bielefeld als Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Saveliy Andreev
Saveliy Andreev was born in St. Petersburg and studied voice, conducting and piano at the Glinka Choral College. After graduating in choral conducting in 2015, he continued his vocal training at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. From 2017 he regularly appeared as a soloist at the Music Hall in St. Petersburg. In the same year he took part in the festival "14th German Week" in St. Petersburg, where he sang a solo part in Bach’s cantata "Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen". In 2018 he won first prize in the tenor category at the competition "Great Opera. Voices of the Future", and in 2019 he participated in a study programme at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. From 2020 to 2022 he was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera House, where he appeared in "Boris Godunov", "Simon Boccanegra", "Salome", "Le Comte Ory", "Dialogues des Carmélites" and "Il mondo della luna".
Valeriy Murga
Bass Valeriy Murga studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv. He was a finalist at both the 41st International Singing Competition in Toulouse (1996) and the 7th Julian Gayarre Competition in Pamplona (1998). In 1997, he won second prize at the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens and participated in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1999. From 1997 to 1999, he was a soloist at the Ukrainian National Opera in Kyiv, where he performed roles including Figaro (“Le nozze di Figaro”), Escamillo (“Carmen”), Schaunard (“La bohème”), and the title roles in “Eugene Onegin,” “Don Giovanni,” and “Prince Igor.” His repertoire also includes the roles of Marchese di Posa (“Don Carlo”) and Shaklovity (“Khovanshchina”). At the Zürich Opera House, Valeriy Murga was initially a member of the International Opera Studio and during this time performed, among others, Sciarrone and the Jailor (“Tosca”) as well as Monterone (“Rigoletto”). Since the 2000/01 season, he has been a permanent ensemble member at the Zürich Opera House, where he has performed roles such as Prince Yeletsky (“The Queen of Spades”), Moralès (“Carmen”), Second Soldier (“Salome”), Alessio (“La sonnambula”), Ali (“L’italiana in Algeri”), Wagner (“Faust”), Sacristan (“Tosca”), Butler (“La rondine”), and Bogdanovich (“The Merry Widow”), as well as in family operas including “The Canterville Ghost,” “Robin Hood,” “The Enchanted Pig,” “Jim Knopf,” and “Wir pfeiffen auf den Gurkenkönig” He has also appeared as a guest in Eugen d’Albert’s “Tiefland” at the Liceu in Barcelona and in “L’italiana in Algeri” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
Andrew Moore
Andrew Moore, an American bass-baritone from New Jersey, received his training at Rutgers University (Mason Gross School of the Arts) and at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 2019, he reached the New England Region Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, where he was awarded the Susan Eastman Encouragement Award. Further important artistic milestones included the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco as well as the Santa Fe Opera, where he appeared as an Apprentice Singer in "La bohème", "Così fan tutte", and "Jenůfa". From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House. He was subsequently engaged in the company ensemble, which he has belonged to since the 2022/23 season. There, he has appeared as Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Paolo Albiani ("Simon Boccanegra"), Don Fernando ("Fidelio"), De Brétigny ("Manon"), Marullo ("Rigoletto"), Paris ("Roméo et Juliette"), Marchese d’Obigny ("La traviata"), Pritschitsch ("Die lustige Witwe"), Johann ("Werther"), and Fix ("In 80 Tagen um die Welt"). His recent international engagements include his debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic as bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as well as his Salzburg debut as Marchese d’Obigny ("La traviata"). In summer 2026, he will appear at the Salzburg Festival as Johann ("Werther"). His repertoire also includes roles such as Leporello ("Don Giovanni"), Guglielmo ("Così fan tutte"), and Rocco ("Fidelio").
Irène Friedli
Irène Friedli grew up in Räuchlisberg, Switzerland, and completed her studies at the Basel Music Academy with a soloist diploma. The alto furthered her training in the interpretation class of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Berlin, attended masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, and studied with Helen Keller. She has won numerous awards at international song competitions. Since 1994, she has been a member of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House. Here, she has sung roles including Second and Third Lady ("The Magic Flute"), Mercédès ("Carmen"), the title role in Ravel’s "L’Enfant et les sortilèges," Elsbeth ("Schlafes Bruder"), Lily ("Harley"), Annina and Flora ("La traviata"), Flosshilde ("Das Rheingold," "Götterdämmerung"), Marcellina ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Emilia ("Otello"), Lucia ("Cavalleria rusticana"), Olga in Peter Eötvös’ "Drei Schwestern," Marthe (Gounod’s "Faust"), Margret ("Wozzeck"), Lovis in Jörn Arnecke’s "Ronja Räubertochter," Flower Maiden and Voice from Above ("Parsifal"), Gertrud/Crone ("Hänsel und Gretel"), Clotilde ("Norma"), Mother/Other Mother ("Coraline"), Card Dealer ("Arabella"), and Nurse ("Boris Godunow"). In the world premiere of the family opera "Odyssee," she portrayed Eurycleia/Mother, and in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" she sang Tanneke. In 2012, she appeared at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. Most recently in Zurich, she has performed roles including the Queen of Hearts ("Alice in Wonderland"), Filipjewna ("Eugene Onegin"), Tisbe ("La Cenerentola"), Miss Bentson ("Lakmé"), Frau Waas/Frau Mahlzahn ("Jim Knopf"), Head Cook ("Amerika"), Ninetta ("I vespri siciliani"), Annina ("Der Rosenkavalier"), and Gertrud/Crone ("Hänsel und Gretel").
Roswitha Christina Müller
Roswitha Christina Müller studierte Gesang an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater München und am Mozarteum Salzburg und schloss ihr Studium mit Auszeichnung ab. Feste Engagements führten sie anschliessend an das Landestheater Salzburg und an das Theater Lübeck. Zudem gastierte sie u.a. an der Staatsoper Hamburg, der Bayerischen Staatsoper, den Staatstheatern Saarbrücken, Karlsruhe und Stuttgart, dem Nationaltheater Weimar, der Deutschen Oper Berlin, der Oper Köln, am Tschechischen Nationaltheater Prag, dem Nationaltheater Taipeh, dem Teatro Comunale in Ferrara sowie mehrfach an der Deutschen Oper am Rhein. 2011 wechselte sie ins dramatische Fach und wurde ab 2012 Ensemblemitglied am Staatstheater Nürnberg. Als Prinzessin Eboli (Don Carlos), Amneris (Aida) und Azucena (Il trovatore) erarbeitete sie sich die wichtigsten Verdi-Mezzopartien. Es folgten Judith in Herzog Blaubarts Burg, Fremde Fürstin in Rusalka, Adelaide in Arabella, Herodias in Salome, Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust, die Titelpartie in Carmen, Cassandre in Les Troyens, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, Fricka in Rheingold und Walküre sowie Waltraute in Götterdämmerung. Sie arbeitete mit Dirigenten wie Kirill Petrenko, Kent Nagano, Gábor Káli und mit Regisseur:innen wie Christoph Loy, Calixto Bieito und Nadja Loschky zusammen. 2019 gastierte sie am Grand-Théâtre de Genève als Rossweisse (Die Walküre) und 2. Norn (Götterdämmerung), als Wellgunde (Das Rheingold) an der Deutschen Oper am Rhein, als Gräfin (Pique Dame) bei den Opernfestspielen Heidenheim und als Rossweisse in einer konzertanten Aufführung von Die Walküre am Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Am Opernhaus Zürich war sie in der Spielzeit 2021/22 als Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor zu erleben.
Omer Kobiljak
The tenor Omer Kobiljak is originally from Bosnia and was born in Switzerland. He studied singing with David Thorner, first at the Winterthur Conservatory and then at the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Aarau. He attended masterclasses with Jane Thorner-Mengedoht, David Thorner, and Jens Fuhr and won first prize with distinction at the Thurgau Music Competition in 2012. The following year, he sang a apprentice (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”) under Daniele Gatti at the Salzburg Festival and made his debut in the same role at La Scala in Milan in 2017. From the 2017/18 season, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, where he appeared in productions such as “La fanciulla del West,” “Parsifal,” “The Flying Dutchman,” and “La traviata.” He also performed as Lord Arturo Buklaw (“Lucia di Lammermoor”) and as the notary in the concert performance of “La sonnambula.” Since the 2019/20 season, Omer Kobiljak has been part of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House, where he has sung roles including Abdallo (“Nabucco”), Macduff (“Macbeth”), Froh (“Das Rheingold”), Alfredo (“La traviata”), Tybalt (“Roméo et Juliette”), the Mad Hatter (“Alice in Wonderland”), and a singer (“Der Rosenkavalier”). His further engagements include Prince Alexis (Umberto Giordano’s “Siberia”), Yamadori (“Madama Butterfly”), and Don Riccardo (“Ernani”) at the Bregenz Festival, as well as the title role in “The Count of Luxembourg” at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In 2023, Omer Kobiljak was a finalist in the Operalia Competition in Cape Town. Most recently, he made his house debuts as Lord Arturo Buklaw at the Semperoper Dresden, as Froh at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and as Narraboth (“Salome”) at the Baltic Opera Festival in Poland.
Lukas Siebert
Lukas Siebert, Tenor, studiert zunächst Schulmusik in Frankfurt und anschliessend Gesang an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater in München. Meisterkurse besuchte er bei Helmut Deutsch und Hedwig Fassbender. Aktuell studiert er Chor- und Orchesterdirigieren in Frankfurt bei Prof. Vassilis Christopoulos und ist Stipendiat des «Forum Dirigieren» des Deutschen Musikrates. Im Rahmen seiner Dirgierausbildung arbeitete er bereits mit dem MDR Rundfunkchor sowie der Philharmonie Neubrandenburg. Schon während seines Schulmusikstudiums sammelte er am Staatstheater Mainz erste Erfahrungen als Solist und gestaltete mit Hilko Dumno mehrere Liederabende u.a. an der Oper Frankfurt. Im Konzertfach führte ihn Mendelssohns Lobgesang in einem Hochschulkonzert zu den Münchner Symphonikern. In der Spielzeit 2021/22 gab er sein Debüt als Melot in Wagners Tristan und Isolde bei den Musikfestspielen Königswinkel und sang an der Bayerischen Staatsoper in Georg Friedrich Haas’ Bluthaus, einer Produktion des dortigen Opernstudios, unter der musikalischen Leitung von Titus Engel und in der Inszenierung von Claus Guth. Zusammen mit seinem Liedduopartner Viktor Jugovic war er mit Liedern von Paul Ben-Haim live auf Deutschlandfunk Kultur zu hören und im Sommer 2022 bei einem Liederabend im Rahmen der Opernfestspiele Heidenheim.
Daniel Hajdu
Daniel Hajdu, geboren in Göttingen, erhielt seine Schauspielausbildung an der Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen. Er gastierte zunächst an den Schauspielhäusern in Düsseldorf und Essen. Feste Engagements führten ihn dann von Wuppertal über Basel nach Heidelberg, unterbrochen von Gastrollen am Zürcher Neumarkttheater und dem Volkstheater München. In den letzten Jahren gastierte Daniel Hajdu am Schauspielhaus Zürich und regelmässig am Theater Biel Solothurn. Er wirkte in zahlreichen TV-Filmen und Fernsehserien mit, so war er u. a. im Tatort und in der Serie Bella Block zu sehen. 1988 spielte er eine Hauptrolle im international ausgezeichneten Fernsehmehrteiler Die Bertinis (nach dem Roman von Ralph Giordano, Regie: Egon Monk). Daniel Hajdu war am Theater Kanton Zürich in Jordi Galcerans Karneval, in Ben Jonsons Volpone, in Mozarts Der Schauspieldirektor, in Labiches Die Affäre Rue de Lourcine und als Bürgermeister in Der Besuch der alten Dame zu sehen.
Kjell Brutscheidt
Kjell Brutscheidt, geboren 1996 in Düsseldorf, absolvierte von 2014 bis 2018 sein Schauspielstudium an der Theaterakademie August Everding. Gastengagements führten ihn u.a. ans Residenztheater, das Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, die Münchner Kammerspiele und die Bad Hersfelder Festspiele. In der Spielzeit 2019/20 war er Teil des ersten spartenübergreifenden Studios am Theater Bielefeld und arbeitete dort in Oper, Spiel und Tanz. Kjell Brutscheidt ist regelmäßig für Film & Fernsehproduktionen tätig, zuletzt u.a. für The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Sarah Kohr - Irrlichter, sowie für Disko Bochum, ZERV und die mehrfach ausgezeichnete Instagram-Serie @ichbinsophiescholl
Jessica Elsasser
Jessica Elsasser ist Schauspielerin und Luftartistin. Sie turnt, seit sie sechs Jahre alt ist, und beendete 2009 ihr Schauspielstudium in Zürich. Nebst verschiedenen Produktionen in Deutschland und der Schweiz war sie unter der Regie von Christoph Schlingensief in Attabambi im Pornoland und in Nora oder ein Puppenhaus in der Regie von Timofej Kuljabin am Schauspielhaus Zürich zu sehen. Am Opernhaus trat sie in Webers Der Freischütz in der Regie von Herbert Fritsch auf sowie in der Familienoper Ronja Räubertochter in der Regie von Marie-Eve Signeyrole. Filmerfahrungen sammelte Jessica Elsasser in verschiedenen Kurzfilmen sowie Musikvideos und Kinofilmen.