Lear

– Jan Windszus Photography

A storm is brewing! Lear, the stunning masterpiece opera by Aribert Reimann, is returning to the Komische Oper Berlin, where this monumental tale of an ageing king was previously staged by Harry Kupfer and Hans Neuenfels. At Tempelhof Airport, Barrie Kosky is now presenting his astonishing vision of the battle for power that rages over Shakespeare’s haunting father figure.

King Lear is inching toward death. He plans to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, with the largest share going to the one who shows him the greatest love. While Goneril and Regan try to outdo one another in their lavish declarations, Cordelia, the youngest, rejects the contest. She, who truly loves her father, refuses to participate – thereby wounding him deeply.As a result, Lear disowns his favourite daughter. Now lacking a dowry, she is married off by her father to the King of France, who later decides to invade Lear’s lands. The kingdom is divided between Goneril and Regan, who eventually unite in open contempt for their ageing father. Accompanied only by his Fool, the old king wanders across an open field through rain and storm at night…

Premiering in 1978, Aribert Reimann’s Lear condenses Shakespeare’s monumental drama into eleven scenes, some unfolding simultaneously, creating a timeless masterpiece of unparalleled vocal and instrumental power. Barrie Kosky stages this classic of modern music theatre as the endgame of a king who knows how little time he has left, yet refuses to hear the truth. A man who is loved, but must die alone.

Artists/Collaborators: Klaus Bruns (Kostüme), Nicholas Carter (Musikalische Leitung), David Cavelius (Chöre), Olaf Freese (Licht), Sophie Jira (Dramaturgie), Barrie Kosky (Inszenierung), Rebecca Ringst (Bühnenbild), Holger Schwark (Sounddesign), Scott Hendricks (König Lear), Fredrik Zetterström (König Lear), Dimitry Ivashchenko (König von Frankreich), Philipp Meierhöfer (Herzog von Albany), Johannes Dunz (Herzog von Cornwall), Ivan Turšić (Graf von Kent), Uwe Gottswinter (Graf von Kent), Günter Papendell (Graf von Gloster), Frank Schneiders (Graf von Gloster), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Edgard), Tobias Hechler (Edgard), Brenton Ryan (Edmund), Andreas Conrad (Edmund), Rosie Aldridge (Goneril), Victoria Khoroshunova (Goneril), Nicole Chevalier (Regan), Cornelia Zink (Regan), Penny Sofroniadou (Cordelia), Mirka Wagner (Cordelia), Dagmar Manzel (Narr), Chorsolisten der Komischen Oper Berlin (Chor), Vocalconsort Berlin (Chor), Komparserie (Komparserie), Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin (Orchester)

Next date:

• Date Wednesday, 16/September/2026 19:30 (8 more dates)
• Venue Komische Oper Berlin: Flughafen Tempelhof / Hangar 1
• Address Columbiadamm 10, 12101 Berlin-Tempelhof