In a castle in the midst of a forest full of goblins, grey gnomes, and wild female spirits, Ronja is born on a stormy night as the daughter of a robber chief. Almost simultaneously, a lightning bolt strikes and splits the walls. On one side of the hellish chasm that now separates the castle, Ronja grows up with her father Mattis and mother Lovis under the protection of their rough but loving band. Quickly, the Borka clan – the arch-enemies of the Mattis robbers – has settled cheekily and uninvited on the other half of the castle. But as Ronja grows older, she becomes friends with Birk, the son of the leader of the rival Borka clan. The two robber children find themselves caught between the fronts of their stubborn fathers and learn to make choices that allow their friendship to triumph over their families' enmity.

Astrid Lindgren's RONJA RÄUBERTOCHTER tells of the possibility of discovering the world with one's own eyes and the strength of being able to rely on others. Filled with robber songs from around the world, this year's family piece for the Christmas season transports us into Ronja's wild, magical cosmos full of curiosity, courage, hope, and the certainty that we can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

In the orchestra, they ensure a full and rounded sound: cello and double bass. In the 4. Kammerkonzert, the big brothers are experienced once without the little sisters violin and viola. – The program begins with a special arrangement of Georg Friedrich Handel's Sonata op. 2 No. 8, whose baroque elegance gains new colors through the unusual instrumentation. Johannes Brahms has always been fond of the sound of the cello. With his first sonata for the instrument, he immerses himself in a bygone era. The adaptation of Bach's Sonata BWV 1028 offers the double bass a rare opportunity to shine as a solo instrument. The finale features Rossini's charming and humorous "Duetto" for cello and double bass – a virtuosic interplay of two extraordinary instruments.

Musicians from the Philharmonic Orchestra perform.

Over 40 years of St. Pauli Blues! As part of their "40th Anniversary VOL. II" tour, the Hamburg Blues Band presents the Hamburg rock shouter Gert Lange, Reggie Worthy (Ike & Tina Turner, Eric Burdon), drummer Eddie Filipp (Sweet, Inga Rumpf, Clem Clempson Band) and the 32-year-old exceptional guitarist Krissy Matthews "This guy is the real deal" (Beth Hart), songs from over 4 decades of HBB & the British guitar shooting stars. A musical fireworks display with friends, fellow travelers, real characters & originals.

Experience a unique performance full of magic, fun, and excitement with the original television puppets!
For over 60 years, Pittiplatsch the Love has been bringing joy and fun to young and old alike. Now, the cheeky goblin is hitting the stage with a new program! Starting in October, the Pittiplatsch Ensemble from Berlin will embark on an adventurous journey across Germany.
The latest production of "Pittiplatsch im Zauberwald" promises not only a mix of nostalgia and fresh air but also a captivating storyline.
Children aged 2 and above require an admission ticket. The performance lasts 60 minutes.

Doors open one hour before the start.

New York 1922. The grand, extravagant parties at the estate of Jay Gatsby are legendary. Glamour, beauty, and the ecstatic longing for happiness unite people in dance and champagne. Gatsby has learned to be everything the world demands of him, but the price for his performance is high. His artificial paradise is meant to impress his lost love, but soon his dream becomes an illusion – and Gatsby must realize that true dreams cannot be fulfilled with money. THE GREAT GATSBY is considered a symbol of the failed "American Dream".

In Ströbitz, Fitzgerald's novel is complemented by poetic material. The poems from the pen of contemporary lyricist Ocean Vuong expand the narrative to include the realm of unspeakable longings and subconscious desires and fears. The poetic, ambivalent, and artificial language enriches Fitzgerald's pragmatic everyday language, which he gave to his characters overflowing with dull boredom.

The musician Thorsten Drücker, together with the singing acting ensemble, creates the musical world for the production, blending the music of the 1920s, contemporary pop, hit songs, and the evergreens of the 80s and 90s.

With authentic gin cocktails, champagne flutes, sequin dresses, and swinging hips along with well-oiled voices, the ensemble presents an evening on stage that gently questions what simmers beneath the surface while still bringing the glamour and elegance of the 1920s to Ströbitz.

What should be played in the theater? „Comedies!“, demand some, „Tragedies“ want others, and a third group prefers „romantic love“.

The first work by composer Sergei S. Prokofiev in his new home, the USA, brings everything to the stage at once and overwhelms the audience as a circus-like fairy tale full of magical transformations, Commedia dell’arte masquerades, absurd twists, and theatrical coups. Against the backdrop of courtly intrigues and a dispute among higher powers, the story of the deeply melancholic prince is told, whom only a laugh can heal. It is precisely a mishap by the evil sorceress Fata Morgana that brings him to laughter. She then curses him to fall in love with three oranges. The path to them takes the lovesick prince past all sorts of monstrous figures into the desert. By a hair's breadth, what was meant to be a comic spectacle could turn into a tragedy - if the audience did not intervene in Prokofiev's theater on the theater.

Like all fairy tales, DIE LIEBE ZU DREI ORANGEN has a serious background. While the dispute over different theatrical directions is fought out bloodlessly on the opera stage, it increasingly develops into a life-threatening matter in Soviet reality. In 1940, Stalin has the great theater reformer Vsevolod Meyerhold executed. Prokofiev leaves post-revolutionary Russia in 1918 and composes DIE LIEBE ZU DREI ORANGEN, one of the most virtuosic, colorful, and absurd works in music history.

Libretto by Flora Verbrugge after the Brothers Grimm
German translation by Barbara Buri

„Please, throw me into the sea, throw me in and let me live, whatever you wish, I will give you!“ – A talking fish!? Jacob is so stunned that he lets it fall back into the water. Meanwhile, the fat catch would have made a good dinner for him and his poor parents. But what did the fish say? Jacob gets to wish for something? He can't think of anything right away. At night in the meager dwelling, his feet freeze. The next morning he calls the fish and comes home with stylish new shoes. His parents urge him to go get a house, later a castle, and then the corresponding staff from the seemingly inexhaustible wishing fish. Greed grows, the claims to possession become excessive. The acquisition is too easy, too tempting, requiring no effort. Despite the bad feeling in his stomach, Jacob goes again and again. Somehow, life is quite pleasant this way too. But the fish is getting thinner and thinner, and the sea is raging stronger and stronger …

With the family musical theater to participate in based on the fairy tale „The Fisherman and His Wife“ for a mezzo-soprano and a percussionist, director Johannes Oertel poses the question of the source of happiness between possessions and harmony with oneself.

In a castle in the midst of a forest full of goblins, grey gnomes, and wild female spirits, Ronja is born on a stormy night as the daughter of a robber chief. Almost simultaneously, a lightning bolt strikes and splits the walls. On one side of the hellish chasm that now separates the castle, Ronja grows up with her father Mattis and mother Lovis under the protection of their rough but loving band. Quickly, the Borka clan – the arch-enemies of the Mattis robbers – has settled cheekily and uninvited on the other half of the castle. But as Ronja grows older, she becomes friends with Birk, the son of the leader of the rival Borka clan. The two robber children find themselves caught between the fronts of their stubborn fathers and learn to make choices that allow their friendship to triumph over their families' enmity.

Astrid Lindgren's RONJA RÄUBERTOCHTER tells of the possibility of discovering the world with one's own eyes and the strength of being able to rely on others. Filled with robber songs from around the world, this year's family piece for the Christmas season transports us into Ronja's wild, magical cosmos full of curiosity, courage, hope, and the certainty that we can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

In 1974, Brigitte Reimann leaves behind her unfinished cult novel FRANZISKA LINKERHAND, a literary embodiment of a person's longing for a happy life. Franziska Linkerhand is a city planner, a lover, a visionary, and the alter ego of her author, Brigitte Reimann. The title character, sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes arrogant, sometimes manic, seeks to realize her ideals of a happy life and dignified urban planning. However, this is not without conflicts with existing structures and ideologies. She looks at the status quo, with all its professions, men, cities, and families, with the perspective of a woman who demands nothing less than all the happiness in the world. FRANZISKA LINKERHAND tells of losses and utopias and poses the question of the world in which we want to live.

Libretto by Flora Verbrugge after the Brothers Grimm
German translation by Barbara Buri

„Please, throw me into the sea, throw me in and let me live, whatever you wish, I will give you!“ – A talking fish!? Jacob is so stunned that he lets it fall back into the water. Meanwhile, the fat catch would have made a good dinner for him and his poor parents. But what did the fish say? Jacob gets to wish for something? He can't think of anything right away. At night in the meager dwelling, his feet freeze. The next morning he calls the fish and comes home with stylish new shoes. His parents urge him to go get a house, later a castle, and then the corresponding staff from the seemingly inexhaustible wishing fish. Greed grows, the claims to possession become excessive. The acquisition is too easy, too tempting, requiring no effort. Despite the bad feeling in his stomach, Jacob goes again and again. Somehow, life is quite pleasant this way too. But the fish is getting thinner and thinner, and the sea is raging stronger and stronger …

With the family musical theater to participate in based on the fairy tale „The Fisherman and His Wife“ for a mezzo-soprano and a percussionist, director Johannes Oertel poses the question of the source of happiness between possessions and harmony with oneself.

All people have dreams. Many of them find expression in the magical world of theater, where they take shape on stage. Fascinated by the toy theater that ballet master Drosselmeier brings to the children on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum family celebration, the girl Clara dreams of becoming a dancer. It is not only the dancing toy figures – a ballerina, a nutcracker, and a mouse king – that come alive in her imagination, but it is almost as if the magic of the little theater gradually transforms the entire Christmas world into a ballet hall and finally to the grand stage, where Clara stands in the radiant spotlight as a ballerina with her Nutcracker Prince.

DER NUSSKNACKER is one of the most famous ballets of all time. The famous music by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky is intended to tell the story through dance, and that is also the secret of the success of this ballet. Exactly that is what the choreographer and director Giorgio Madia takes as the basis of his interpretation: What could be better to tell than a story about dancing itself? He is known throughout Europe for his fascinating stage productions with a captivating effect. For young and old, he immerses the audience with the ballet of the Staatstheater Cottbus into the magical world of stage magic, right in time for Christmas, the time of wishes and dreams.

Having his identity stolen on the internet is bad enough for Oli. But shortly afterwards, not only does his online life collapse: his real life is also stolen from him. Who is doing and saying such terrible things? Whom can Oli trust to perceive him as he really is while the world sees him as a monster? Soon he wonders if his real self ever existed. - In a German-language premiere, a profound thriller unfolds in which nothing is as it seems, and no one is who he is. Because perhaps Oli's story is being told from a completely different perspective, one that turns reality into unreality. Even the play and the author may have different names, as one may have lost oneself in the play during research? But rest assured, you will definitely get to see an entertaining, highly dramatic and confusing British crime thriller, told in dialogues as gripping as those of an exciting Netflix series, directed by in-house director Philipp Rosendahl, a lover of the well-made play - truly!

A coproduction with Lausitz Festival

Shakespeare's „A Midsummer Night's Dream“ is condensed into the storyline of the four flirting and shimmering, hesitating and doubting young lovers: Helena loves Demetrius, who rejects her. He is promised to her friend Hermia. Although Demetrius woos Hermia – much to Helena's dismay – Hermia has no eyes for him. For she loves Lysander, who reciprocates her love. Unfortunately, a connection between the two is hopeless, as Hermia is promised to Demetrius …

As if this situation weren't complicated enough, the gnome Puck will play magical tricks on a summer night to make the lovers fall out of love and reshuffle the cards. Like in a wildly intoxicating dream, the four are tossed between longing and scorn, hope and pleading, pain and happiness.

With the beloved characters and the incomparable language of Shakespeare, along with the humor that comes with it, ROSE UND REGEN SCHWERT UND WUNDE tells a young, entertaining story of the confusions and chaos of youthful love.

All people have dreams. Many of them find expression in the magical world of theater, where they take shape on stage. Fascinated by the toy theater that ballet master Drosselmeier brings to the children on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum family celebration, the girl Clara dreams of becoming a dancer. It is not only the dancing toy figures – a ballerina, a nutcracker, and a mouse king – that come alive in her imagination, but it is almost as if the magic of the little theater gradually transforms the entire Christmas world into a ballet hall and finally to the grand stage, where Clara stands in the radiant spotlight as a ballerina with her Nutcracker Prince.

DER NUSSKNACKER is one of the most famous ballets of all time. The famous music by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky is intended to tell the story through dance, and that is also the secret of the success of this ballet. Exactly that is what the choreographer and director Giorgio Madia takes as the basis of his interpretation: What could be better to tell than a story about dancing itself? He is known throughout Europe for his fascinating stage productions with a captivating effect. For young and old, he immerses the audience with the ballet of the Staatstheater Cottbus into the magical world of stage magic, right in time for Christmas, the time of wishes and dreams.

The eight Ukrainian singers of the ensemble "The Gregorian Voices" will take you into the world of classical Gregorian chants with their impressive voices – unison meditative liturgical songs of the Christian medieval monastic orders.

Dressed in traditional monk robes, the singers create a mystical atmosphere that allows the audience to reflect inward and prepares for the festive Christmas season. Experience a varied concert with a mix of Gregorian chorales, Orthodox church music, and Christmas songs from various countries.

The performance will feature the Latin chant "Gaudete - Christus est natus," Ukrainian, English, and well-known German Christmas songs such as "Silent Night," "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," and "O Daughter of Zion." The concert is complemented by classics of pop music, including "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, or "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban, which have been newly arranged in the style of Gregorian chant.

Allow yourself to be captivated by the fascinating voices of the soloists and the moving choral singing: the Middle Ages meet the Here and Now.

"The Gregorian Voices" offer you a breathtaking concert and an unparalleled listening experience …

Admission: 6:00 PM

Vienna: These are taverns, bars, and sharp, black humor. Strolling along the Ring, one passes the State Opera, the Palace of Justice, and the Burgtheater, pausing for a moment in front of the imposing Hofburg or greeting the statue of Maria Theresa. The air is mild, the tram clangs cheerfully along its tracks, and everywhere a soft, melancholic yet joyful music wafts around. In one of the many coffee houses, one settles in to the sounds of a piano for the length of a cigarette to listen not only to the melodies but especially to the latest gossip. Afterwards, it's off for a walk along the Danube Canal, where one encounters the most charming little Viennese girls while trying to feed the pigeons. In the evening, a bit of cinema is welcome.

This musical evening in the theater barn takes the audience into the beautiful Danube metropolis. With Viennese hits, films, and stories, Frank Bernard and Heiko Walter dive straight into the wild Viennese life, sensing the true Habsburg flair and weaving the old and the new times together with a light touch. One almost feels as if one is there in person. When finally heading out to Grinzing to the famous Heuriger in the wine-soaked summer freshness, one would gladly order a second or third glass...

Recomposition by The McDaniel Brothers for the Staatstheater Cottbus

The eerie fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann tells of the student Nathanael, who is haunted by a severe trauma from his childhood. A series of strange events occur, seemingly connected to the death of Nathanael's father. The Sandman appears, sometimes as a demon, sometimes as an invention of Nathanael's childlike self. Nathanael seems to succumb to madness, falls in love with a doll, and ultimately ends in tragic suicide.

E.T.A. Hoffmann is considered one of the most significant representatives of German Romanticism. Especially through his mystically eerie narratives, of which DER SANDMANN is probably the most well-known, he gained posthumous worldwide fame in the mid-19th century. In Cottbus, the stage adaptation by the American composer duo The McDaniel Brothers, choreographer Alessia Ruffolo, and co-theater director Philipp Rosendahl combines the mediums of acting, music, and dance. Following the traces of the unconscious, this recomposition explores the boundaries of the sayable, perceivable, and representable in dreamily branched images.

This work is created as a cross-genre project between theater and ballet as well as Cottbus musicians.