Zurich Opera House tickets 21 February 2026 - Cardillac | GoComGo.com

Cardillac

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland
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7 PM
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US$ 175

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Sung in: German
Titles in: German,English

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Bass: Gabor Bretz (Cardillac)
Soprano: Anett Fritsch (Cardillac`s daughter)
Tenor: Michael Laurenz (The officer)
Bass: Stanislav Vorobyov (The gold merchant)
Choir: Zurich Opera Chorus
Orchestra: Zurich Opera Orchestra
Creators
Composer: Paul Hindemith
Librettist: Ferdinand Lion
Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Overview

Fabio Luisi conducts the ice-cold, dazzling score.

Cardillac cannot part with his art. The jeweler must kill anyone who buys jewelry from him. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella "Das Fräulein von Scuderi", one of the first German detective stories, served as source material for Paul Hindemith. His 1926 opera is a milestone in the development of music theater. A century years after its premiere, theater and filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó stages this thriller about obsessions, control, and self-alienation.

History
Premiere of this production: 09 November 1926, Staatsoper, Dresden

Cardillac is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story Das Fräulein von Scuderi by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

Synopsis

Act 1
Scene 1

The crowd is agitated about a series of recent mysterious murders. The police calm the crowd. The goldsmith Cardillac enters the scene and the atmosphere becomes hushed. The Lady asks the Cavalier about the goldsmith Cardillac, and the Cavalier tells of the goldsmith and his priceless jewelry. The Lady promises the Cavalier a tryst that evening if he can bring her Cardillac's most beautiful work.

Scene 2

The Lady and the Cavalier enjoy their tryst and the Cavalier delivers one of Cardillac's belts. A masked figure steals into the bedroom and fatally stabs the Cavalier. The Lady faints and the mysterious figure leaves with the belt.

Act 2
The Gold Merchant mentions to Cardillac the latest murder that involved the theft of a recent work of Cardillac. The Gold Merchant has his suspicions about the identity of the murderer. Cardillac orders his daughter to watch over his work. She does so and awaits her lover, the Officer. Cardillac returns, and it becomes clear that he values the articles he has crafted more than he does his daughter. He then meets the King and offers to create his greatest work of art for him. The Officer enters to ask Cardillac for his daughter's hand in marriage, and Cardillac consents. Though the Officer realizes how much Cardillac values his creations over his own daughter, he offers money for one of the goldsmith's chains. After the Officer leaves, Cardillac indicates that he himself is the murderer.

Act 3
In a tavern, the Officer wears the chain, presenting himself as a target for the murderer. Cardillac enters and wounds the Officer, but the Officer beats back the attack and holds on to the chain. He advises Cardillac to flee. The Gold Merchant then brings on a crowd and accuses Cardillac of the murders. Cardillac is brought in, followed by his daughter. The Officer defends Cardillac, rebuts the Gold Merchant's accusation, and accuses the Gold Merchant of being the murderer's accomplice. In the ensuing ensemble, Cardillac's daughter realizes her father is the murderer. The crowd sings Cardillac's praises, but as they continue, his words make them wonder about the identity of the murderer. Finally, Cardillac reveals to the crowd that he is the murderer. They demand he repent his crimes, but he makes no such gesture. The crowd then lynches Cardillac. With his final gesture before dying, he reaches out for the chain around the Officer's neck, not his daughter. The Officer and Cardillac's daughter swear mutual devotion.

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Location   Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Sung in: German
Titles in: German,English
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