Culture

Wagner-Kosmos of Oper Dortmund

On the occasion of the new staging of Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen” at Oper Dortmund, the opera festival “Wagner-Kosmos” takes place annually with an accompanying science symposium. Here, the individual parts of Wagner's tetralogy are systematically placed in the context of their respective time and juxtaposed with selected operas by precursors, companions, antipodes and successors.

Zwei Schauspieler (links im grünen Feenkleid, rechts in T-Shirt und Shorts mit einem Schwert in der Hand) sitzen vor einer goldenen Wand, während eine Person vor ihnen auf dem Boden liegt

Europe

Germany

Dortmund

Funding period: 2020-2027

In creating his art, Richard Wagner interacted with and was influenced by other artists – and also inspired many others. Oper Dortmund explores this creative cosmos. The annual highlight is a festival around Wagner's birthday in May, which takes place every year until 2025. Since the 2019/20 season, the Wilo-Foundation has been supporting the Wagner-Kosmos, a major opera project with accompanying scientific symposiums (2020-27). All four parts of Richard Wagner's “Der Ring des Nibelungen” are brought to the Dortmund stage by the famous director Peter Konwitschny, and performed by world-class Wagner singers including Stéphanie Müther, Daniel Frank and Samuel Youn.

The Cosmos centres on topics such as politics, religion and ideology. A festival, accompanied by an international scientific symposium, connects different works by Wagner with one or two other operas that either play a central role in music history, or that are the world premiere of a composition commissioned by Oper Dortmund.

With "Das Rheingold", Peter Konwitschny continues his production of the tetralogy "Der Ring des Nibelungen", which will conclude in 2024/25 with the performance of the complete cycle. Photo: Theater Dortmund, Credit: Thomas M. Jauk

With this German premiere of the opera "Fernand Cortez or The Conquest of Mexico" in French by Gaspare Spontini, Theater Dortmund (2022) also places its 'Wagner cosmos' in a music-historical context. Photo: Theater Dortmund, Credit: Björn Hickmann

The concept of the Wagner-Kosmos was developed by opera director Heribert Germeshausen, who also has the overall artistic responsibility for the project. Oper Dortmund reached an impressive 2^nd place in the critics’ survey of the Opernwelt magazine, last but not least because of its progressive and courageous programme. In 2023, the OPER! magazine presented Oper Dortmund with the OPER! AWARD as the best opera house of the previous year 2022.

Ina Brandes, Ministerin für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, gratuliert dem Intendanten der Oper Dortmund, Heribert Germeshausen, zum OPER!AWARD 2023 — Congratulations from Ina Brandes, Minister of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, went to the artistic director of the Dortmund Opera, Heribert Germeshausen, on the OPER! AWARD 2023. Foto. Theater Dortmund, Credit: Björn Hickmann

Header: The opera "Siegfried" as part of the Wagner cosmos at the Dortmund Opera (2023). Photo: Theater Dortmund, Credit: Thomas M. Jauk

Our funding partner

Theater Dortmund, with its six segments of opera, ballet, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, drama, junior theatre and, most recently, the Academy for Theatre and Digitality (ATD), has played a central role in Dortmund’s cultural scene for more than 100 years. With over 750 performances and around 70 productions every season, it is one of the most productive theatres in Europe.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

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