© Jan Windszus Photography
Dear Friends,
At the end of every children’s opera, we look across a sea of young faces and are deeply moved by what music theatre is capable of achieving: there’s a palpable enthusiasm that, for us as theatre makers, is an incredible gift. This is why we love creating music theatre: it’s the fantastic enthusiasm that the audience can give to the artists, and that the artists can give back to the audience.
The everyday work of running an opera house is often quite knotty, constantly demanding decisions both big and small, which all impact our programme in ways both big and small—and thus affect the future of our institution. The recent cuts in cultural funding haven’t made our work any easier. After all: less is less. This ultimately means fewer new productions. Nonetheless, assembling a bold and diverse programme remains our primary commitment: we cannot allow artistic quality to suffer under financial pressure. That’s why, especially in terms of our richly varied and highly in-demand repertoire of children’s operas, we’re keeping up the pace with thirty-five performances for our youngest audiences in the 2026/27 season alone.
The everyday work of running an opera house is often quite knotty, constantly demanding decisions both big and small, which all impact our programme in ways both big and small—and thus affect the future of our institution. The recent cuts in cultural funding haven’t made our work any easier. After all: less is less. This ultimately means fewer new productions. Nonetheless, assembling a bold and diverse programme remains our primary commitment: we cannot allow artistic quality to suffer under financial pressure. That’s why, especially in terms of our richly varied and highly in-demand repertoire of children’s operas, we’re keeping up the pace with thirty-five performances for our youngest audiences in the 2026/27 season alone.
The season starts once again with a stunning transformation of Hangar 4 at Tempelhof Airport, where we’re staging a masterpiece of modern music theatre: Aribert Reimann’s Lear, directed by Barrie Kosky! We’ll then take a rare foray into the Italian repertoire with Madama Butterfly, under the direction of Andrea Breth, and continue our exploration of East Germany’s Heiteres Musiktheater or ‘light-hearted music theatre’ with Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten (Treading the Boards), before premiering Berlin’s very first theatrical production of Karol Szymanowski’s mystical opera Król Roger (King Roger) in January, directed by Evgeny Titov. In April, the spotlight will turn to a celebrated star of the Komische Oper with a piece written especially for her: Dagmar Manzel, performing the ironically titled Cast a Diva. The season will end with a flourish, as the Komische Oper premieres its own production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, under the baton of our Music Director James Gaffigan. Here too, the director is Barrie Kosky. After its run in Berlin, the production will have guest performances in Paris, Copenhagen, and Lyon.
Our energy comes from the joy we all share in the extraordinary possibilities of music theatre. This is what fuels our enthusiasm, and our optimism that the next premiere will also be a roaring success.
Come share in the enthusiasm with us!
Susanne Moser, Philip Bröking, and James Gaffigan
Co-Intendants and Music Director
© Jan Windszus Photography
You can now browse through the schedule and book your favourite productions from March 31. Insider tip: With the OperaCard 25 you can book your tickets exclusively from Tuesday, March 24, 2026 online, at the box office Unter den Linden or by phone!
Season
2026/27
Our Program
Of kings and gods, of roosters and horses, of love and sorrow, of fairy tales and magic, of canned food and pies, of divas on boards that mean the world, and much, much more.
© Jan Windszus Photography
© Jan Windszus Photography
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Airport Tempelhof / Hangar 4
Columbiadamm 10
12101 Berlin
With Lear, this will be the fourth time that the Komische Oper opens the season with a major production at Tempelhof Airport, after Jesus Christ Superstar, Messiah, and The Raft of the Medusa. Tempelhof Airport was built from 1936 to 1941 and was once the world’s largest building, featuring 307,000 square metres of indoor space and a roof meant to hold seating for eighty thousand air-show spectators. While serving as a monumental showpiece during the Nazi era, the airport later became a symbol of freedom during the post-war era thanks to the Berlin Airlift. Since its closure in 2008, its seven hangars have accommodated refugees, social projects, cultural events, and sporting meets.
Premiere
© Jan Windszus Photography
Schiller Theatre
Bismarckstraße 110
10625 Berlin
Without the Schiller Theatre, there’d be no Komische Oper Berlin! Opened in 1907, the playhouse became a secondary venue of the Prussian State Theatre in 1921. Walter Felsenstein directed here in the 1930s under Intendant Heinrich George. The Schiller Theatre was bombed out in 1944, so its artists shifted their work to the Hebbel Theatre. It was there that Felsenstein created his legendary production of La vie parisienne by Jacques Offenbach, which ultimately earned him the intendant job at the former Metropol Theatre on Behrenstrasse. This is where he founded the institution now considered a cradle of modern music theatre: the Komische Oper Berlin. The Schiller Theatre was rebuilt in 1950/51 and has served as a venue for the Komische Oper Berlin since the 2023/24 season.
Premieres
Repertoire
Symphony Concerts
Kirill & Friends
© Jan Windszus Photography
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Konzerthaus Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt 2
10117 Berlin
Designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Berlin’s Konzerthaus was first opened in 1821 as a theatre. This is where Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischuetz (The Marksman) premiered, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony had its first Berlin performance. Almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, the building was reopened in 1984 and became a concert hall in 1994. During the 2026/27 season, the Konzerthaus will host two symphony concert guest performances by the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin.
Symphony Concerts
© Jan Windszus Photography
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... and all over Berlin!
Out to the city, into the neighbourhoods! The Komische Oper Berlin is the opera company for all of the city’s urban communities. For over ten years now, the Opera Dolmuş has been delivering music theatre to various local neighbourhoods as part of the Selam Opera programme. Meanwhile, the music theatre outreach programme Jung – für alle! has been collaborating with schools and other institutions from Spandau to Köpenick and from Reinickendorf to Zehlendorf. Keep your eyes and ears open, as the Komische Oper Berlin is sure to appear somewhere nearby…
Ready, steady, go for tickets!
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 11 a.m., exclusive advance ticket sales will begin for OperaCard 25 holders, subscribers and sponsors. Tickets can be booked online, by telephone or directly at the opera box office (Unter den Linden) – one week before the general advance booking starts on March 31, 2026!