Musical Advent Calendar

Pause for 15 minutes a day and escape the hustle and bustle. Artists from the Orchester der Oper Zürich, the Orchesterakademie, the International Opera Studio, or the Chor der Oper Zürich offer 23 concerts held in the Opernhaus foyer, bringing a moment of calm to the often-hectic advent season. The program will be published daily here. Or simply stop by and let yourself be pleasantly surprised by what’s on offer...

In the foyer of the Zurich Opera House
1st to 23rd of December 2025
Daily, 5.30pm (Doors open at 5.20pm)
Admission free

Supported by

Window 24

Frohe Weihnachten!

Manche Weihnachtslieder hat man schon unzählige Male gehört. Und doch berühren sie das Herz jedes Mal aufs Neue – ganz besonders, wenn sie von jungen Nachwuchstalenten gespielt werden. Das neu gegründete Kinderopernorchester spielt «Stille Nacht» und überbringt Ihnen einen musikalischen Weihnachtsgruss zum Innehalten, Zuhören und Festlichwerden.

Window 23

Soloist
Rosa Maria Hernandez

Piano
Klaas-Jan de Groot

Rodolfo Halffter:
Las canciones de la tierra

Xavier Montsalvatge:
Cinco canciones negras

Window 22

Soprano / Alto
Karima El Demerdasch

Piano
Maria Scarfone

Sergei Rachmaninoff:
“I Wait for You”

Henri Duparc:
“Phydilé”

Arabic love song, unknown composer:
“Lamma Bada Yatathanna”

Jean Sibelius:
“Was It a Dream?”

Frank Bridge:
“Love Went A-Riding”

Window 21

Violin
Marina Yakovleva

Accordion
Oleg Lips

Double Bass
Dariusz Mizera

Percussion
Dessislava Kepenerova

Astor Piazzolla:
“Adiós Nonino”

Johannes Brahms:
Hungarian Dance No. 5

Aram Khachaturian:
“Sabre Dance”

Vittorio Monti:
“Csárdás”

Window 20

Tenor
Andrew Owens

Piano
Marie-Eve Scarfone

Franz Xaver Gruber:
“Silent Night”

Adolphe Adam:
“O Holy Night”

Mel Tormé:
“The Christmas Song”

Hugh Martin:
“Have Yourself A Merry Christmas”

Window 19

Violin
Nathan Kirzon
Janet Van Hasselt

Viola
Aleksandr Tatarinov

Cello
Ruth Eichenseher

Harp
Julie Palloc

Maurice Ravel:
“Pavane pour une infante défunte”, arranged for string quartet and harp

Astor Piazzolla:
“Café 1930”, arranged for violin, cello, and harp

Window 18

Sopranos
Hélène Couture
Laura Missuray
Bernadeta Sonnleitner

Piano
Klaas-Jan de Groot

Robert Schumann:
"Three Songs for Female Voices"

Felix Mendelssohn:
From "Elijah": "Lift Thine Eyes"

Tenors
Savelij Andreev
Xuenan Liu
Matthew Leigh
Jeremy Bowes

I Barbieri Singers:
"Classic Barbershop Christmas"

Window 17

Violin
Hanna Weinmeister

Harpsichord
Michael Richter

Johann Sebastian Bach:
“Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo, G major, BWV 1021”
“Air” from Orchestral Suite No. 3, D major, BWV 1068

Window 16

Horn
Irene Lopez Del Pozo

Bassoon
Francisco Esteban Rubio

Piano
Esteban Dominguez Gonzalvo

Frédéric Duvernoy:
Trio No. 2 (originally for Horn, Violin and Piano)

Paul Basler:
“Six Bagatelles” for horn, bassoon, and piano

Window 15

Flute
Eva Kieffer

Violin
Achille Vocat

Viola
Lisanne Schick

Cello
Claudio Casolino

W. A. Mozart:
“Flute Quartet in D major, KV 285”

Window 14

Violin
Nadezhda Korshakova
Yumin Shi

“La Cucaracha”
(arr. Aleksey Igudesman for two violins)

Jean-Marie Leclair:
Sonata No. 5 for Two Violins, Op. 3
2nd Movement (Gavotte grazioso – Andante)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Duo in G Major, K. 423
3rd Movement (Rondo. Allegro)

Window 13

Kinderopernorchester

*Brass
Trumpets: Gavriil Yuujiron Hoshi, Biheng Zhang, Loretta Sommer, Timo Vischer, Aleksandra Zvonova
Trombone: Raffael Czerny, David Kübler
Horn: Konstanze Tracht, Cecilia Schönenberger

Mentors
Evgeny Ruzin (Trumpet), Daniel Vesel (Trombone), Florian Hatzelmann (Bass Trombone), Lionel Pointet (Horn)

Piano
Ann-Katrin Stöcker

Cello
Ana Kozacenko

Flute
Xenia Martin

Soprano
Larissa Angelini

Felix Mendelssohn:
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
*Brass

Engelbert Humperdinck:
from “Hänsel und Gretel”: “Abendsegen”
*Brass

Franz Gruber:
“Silent Night”
*Brass

Bernhard Romberg:
“Cello Sonata: 1st Movement”
Ana Kozacenko
Ann-Katrin Stöcker

Engelbert Humperdinck:
“Weihnachten ”
Larissa Angelini
Xenia Martin
Ana Kozacenko
Konstanze Tracht
Ann-Katrin Stöcker

Window 12

Soloists
Francisca Montiel (soprano)
Aurora Faggioli (alto)
Luis Magallanes (tenor)
Dmytro Kalmuchyn (baritone)

Piano
Rafael Gordillo

Gioachino Rossini
from “Les Soirées musicales”:
“L’orgia”
Luis Magallanes

“La Promessa”
Francisca Montiel

“I Marinari”
Luis Magallanes
Dmytro Kalmuchyn

Gioachino Rossini
from “L’italiana in Algeri”:
“Cruda sorte”
Aurora Faggioli

Gioachino Rossini:
“Cat Quartet”
Francisca Montiel
Aurora Faggioli
Luis Magallanes
Dmytro Kalmuchyn
Rafael Gordillo

Window 11

Singers
Hao Zhang
Bo Zhao

Tenor Trio Trovatori Stranieri:
Themis Basdekis
Vahan Markaryan
Nazariy Sadivsky

Piano
Rafael Gordillo

Jacques Offenbach:
from “La belle Hélène”: “Oui, c'est un rêve”
Hao Zhang
Bo Zhao
Rafael Gordillo

Francesco Sartori:
“Con te partirò”
Hao Zhang
Bo Zhao
Rafael Gordillo

Franz Lehár:
“Friends, Life Is Worth Living” from “Giuditta”
Tenor Trio Trovatori Stranieri
Rafael Gordillo

Eduardo Di Capua:
“O sole mio”, Neapolitan song
Tenor Trio Trovatori Stranieri
Rafael Gordillo

Franz Xaver Gruber:
“Silent Night, Holy Night”
Tenor Trio Trovatori Stranieri
Rafael Gordillo

Window 10

Singers
Julie Bartholomew
Sylwia Feherpataky

Violin
Marina Yakovlewa

Electric Bass
Dariusz Mizera

Percussion
Dessi Kepenerova

Piano
Anna Hauner

Actor
Henri Bernard

Kurt Weill:
"I’m a Stranger Here Myself"
"Lost in the Stars"
"Lonely House"

Astor Piazzolla:
"Libertango"

Gianni Ferrio:
"Paroles, paroles"

Window 09

Flute
Rute Pereira Fernandes
Eva Kieffer

Piano
Daria Chaikovska

Jean-Christophe Maltot:
“Rosenkavalier Flutes Suite”

Jean-Christophe Maltot:
“Fantaisie sur Madame Butterfly”

Window 08

Flute
Maurice Heugen
Caterina Bruno

Piano
Kateryna Tereshchenko

Ernesto Köhler:
“Blumenwalzer”, op. 87

Franz and Karl Doppler:
“Hungarian Fantasy”, op. 35, for two flutes and piano

Window 07

Today's concert will exceptionally take place on the studio stage.

Clarinet
Filipa Nunes

Viola
Maria Clément

Piano
Kateryna Tereshchenko

Engelbert Humperdinck:
Excerpts from “Hansel and Gretel”, arr. for trio

Astor Piazzolla:
“Invierno”, arr. for trio

Window 06

Trombone Quartet
David García
Tobias Lang
Alexander Apfler
René Meister

Joseph Haydn / arr. Don Miller:
Achieved is the Glorious Work

Andreas Gabrieli / arr. Leonard Cecil:
Ricercar del duodecimo tuono

Trad. / arr. Bill Reichenbach:
Scarborough Fair

J. Pierpont / arr. Robert Elkjer:
Jingle Bells

Trad. / arr. Robert Elkjer:
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Aram Khachaturian / arr. Bollinger:
Saber Dance

Window 05

Violin
Maya Kadosh

Viola
Natalia Mosca

Violoncello
Xavier Pignat

Piano
Ann-Katrin Stöcker

Johannes Brahms:
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Window 04

Bass-baritone
Evan Gray

Piano
Ava Linvog

Ludwig van Beethoven:
An die ferne Geliebte

Franz Schubert:
Alinde

Window 03

Violin
Nadezhda Korshakova
Marina Yakovleva-Häfliger

Viola
Aleksandr Tatarinov

Cello
Camille Thévoz

Double Bass
Simon Hartmann

Antonín Dvořák:
String Quintet in G major, Op. 77
for 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass

Window 02

Violin
Marina Yakovleva-Häfliger

Piano
Kateryna Tereshchenko

Fritz Kreisler:
Miniatures

Johann Sebastian Bach / Charles Gounod:
Ave Maria

Antonio Vivaldi:
Excerpts from “The Four Seasons”

Window 01

Sunday, 1st December 2019

Violoncello
Lev Sivkov
Xavier Pignat

Jacques Offenbach:
Duo for 2 Violoncellos, Op. 54

Jean-Baptiste Barrière:
Sonata for 2 Violoncellos