Zurich Opera (Opernhaus Zürich) is a Swiss

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

company based in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. The company gives performances in the

Zurich Opera House The Zurich Opera House () is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to Ballett Zürich. I ...

History

The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

''.

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

began his career there, and in 1913

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

’s ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

'' was given its first performance outside Bayreuth.

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss List of Romantic-era composers, Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and Conductor (music), conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of lied, art ...

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

, Frank Martin and other famous composers all left their mark on the development of Zürich's musical theatre. Zurich Opera House has been the setting for numerous world premières, such as

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

’s ''

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,''

’s ''

Mathis der Maler ''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...

'',

Arnold Schönberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

’s ''

Moses und Aron ''Moses und Aron'' (English: ''Moses and Aaron'') is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the music to the third act unfinished. The German libretto is by the composer. It is based on selected incidents from the Book of Exodus (chapters 3 ...

'', and Rudolf Kelterborn's '' Der Kirschgarten''. Works by Heinrich Sutermeister and Giselher Klebe were also performed there for the first time. From 1975 to 1986, Claus Helmut Drese was artistic director of the company. His artistic standards led the company to gain international recognition, through the presentation of the

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...

cycle, with

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

as conductor and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle as director and set designer. In the 1991/1992 season, Alexander Pereira became ''Intendant'' (general director) of the company. His tenure opened with ''Lohengrin'' in a production by Robert Wilson. He has placed great emphasis on promoting promising young artists and new types of performances. Pereira initiated the Zurich Festival in the autumn of 1996, with the first festival held in the summer of 1997. The current ''Intendant'' of the company is Andreas Homoki, since 2012. During Homoki's tenure, Fabio Luisi served as ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the company. In July 2018, Zurich Opera announced simultaneously the extension of Homoki's contract as ''Intendant'' through 2025, the scheduled conclusion of Luisi's tenure as GMD after the 2020/2021 season, and the appointment of

Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964) is an Italian conductor. He is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; general music director (''Generalmusikdirektor)'' of Zurich Opera; principal guest condu ...

as the next GMD of the company, effective in 2021. In October 2022, the company announced an extension of Noseda's contract as GMD with the company through the 2027-2028 season.

Conductors in leadership positions (partial list)

Nello Santi Nello Santi (22 September 1931 – 6 February 2020) was an Italian conductor. He was associated with the Zürich Opera House for six decades, and was a regular conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He was focused on Italian reper ...

( GMD, 1958–1969) * Ferdinand Leitner ('Musikalischer Oberleiter', 1969–1984) * Ralf Weikert (chief conductor, 1985–1992) * Franz Welser-Möst (chief conductor, 1995–2005; GMD, 2005–2008). * Daniele Gatti (chief conductor, 2009–2012) * Fabio Luisi (GMD, 2012–2021) *

(GMD, 2021–present)

References

External links

Official website

Philharmonia Zürich

(former director of the International Opera Center at the Zurich Opera), by Bruce Duffie, 19 May 1987 {{authority control Swiss opera companies Musical groups from Zurich