© Jana Legler / Interfilm
Weekend Tips: What to Do This Weekend in Berlin
November 13 to 15, 2026: Events, festivals, exhibitions and more things to do for your perfect weekend in Berlin. more
Madama Butterfly
Date details
- Date Saturday, 21/November/2026 19:00 ( 8 more dates )
- Venue Komische Oper Berlin: Schillertheater - Großer Saal
- Address Bismarckstraße 110, 10625 Berlin-Charlottenburg
Public transportation
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Train (S-Bahn)
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S Savignyplatz
- S3
- S5
- S7
- S9
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S Savignyplatz
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Bus
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Marchstr.
- M45
- 245
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Bismarckstr./Leibnizstr.
- 101
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U Ernst-Reuter-Platz
- 245
- M45
- N2
- U2
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Otto-Suhr-Allee/Leibnizstr.
- 101
- M45
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Berlin, Goethestr.
- 101
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U Deutsche Oper
- N2
- U2
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Steinplatz
- 245
- M45
- N2
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Berlin, Schlüterstr.
- M49
- X34
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Guerickestr.
- 101
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Warburgzeile
- M45
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Berlin, Kantstr./Leibnizstr.
- M49
- X34
- 101
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Marchbrücke
- 245
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Berlin, Savignyplatz
- M49
- X34
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Dovebrücke
- 245
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Marchstr.
Part of:
Madama Butterfly
– Jan Windszus Photography
© Jan Windszus Photography
Andrea Breth’s gorgeous production of Madama Butterfly, following its runs in Aix-en-Provence and Lyon, now comes to the Komische Oper Berlin – and is sure to move audiences to tears. There’s good reason why Puccini described his masterpiece as ‘the most heartfelt opera I have ever written’.
The young geisha Cio-Cio-San, or ‘Butterfly’, marries the American naval officer Pinkerton: for him it’s just an ‘exotic’ fling, but for her the marriage means everything – an escape from poverty, a bright future, and a new life as a mother. The heartless Pinkerton soon leaves Japan to find a ‘real’ wife back home, while Butterfly – oblivious to his betrayal – waits with their child for his return. Three years later, Pinkerton finally reappears, but with his new wife – and after all this, he now wants to take away Butterfly’s child too. When she finally realizes the truth, she sees only one way out: death.Puccini’s renowned opera telling the tragic tale of a hopeful Japanese woman and her decadent American husband has lost none of its power, even today. He confronted the colonial arrogance of the West with a forthrightness that was quite unusual for the early twentieth century. While Pinkerton embodies what may be Puccini’s least sympathetic tenor role, his titular heroine undergoes perhaps the greatest transformation of all his operatic characters: from geisha to virtuous wife, to single mother, and finally to one who chooses suicide.
Surprisingly for such a master of psychological realism, Andrea Breth brings a more painterly aesthetic to this production. With the atmospheric use of kimonos, cherry blossoms, and cranes, as well as Breth’s restrained direction, the focus remains squarely on what matters most: the characters.
The young geisha Cio-Cio-San, or ‘Butterfly’, marries the American naval officer Pinkerton: for him it’s just an ‘exotic’ fling, but for her the marriage means everything – an escape from poverty, a bright future, and a new life as a mother. The heartless Pinkerton soon leaves Japan to find a ‘real’ wife back home, while Butterfly – oblivious to his betrayal – waits with their child for his return. Three years later, Pinkerton finally reappears, but with his new wife – and after all this, he now wants to take away Butterfly’s child too. When she finally realizes the truth, she sees only one way out: death.Puccini’s renowned opera telling the tragic tale of a hopeful Japanese woman and her decadent American husband has lost none of its power, even today. He confronted the colonial arrogance of the West with a forthrightness that was quite unusual for the early twentieth century. While Pinkerton embodies what may be Puccini’s least sympathetic tenor role, his titular heroine undergoes perhaps the greatest transformation of all his operatic characters: from geisha to virtuous wife, to single mother, and finally to one who chooses suicide.
Surprisingly for such a master of psychological realism, Andrea Breth brings a more painterly aesthetic to this production. With the atmospheric use of kimonos, cherry blossoms, and cranes, as well as Breth’s restrained direction, the focus remains squarely on what matters most: the characters.
Artists/Collaborators: Klaus Bertisch (Dramaturgie), Andrea Breth (Inszenierung), David Cavelius (Chöre), Tomoya Kawamura (Bewegungsregie), Alexander Koppelmann (Licht), Marcin Lakomicki (Szenische Einstudierung), Yi-Chen Lin (Musikalische Leitung), Ursula Renzenbrink (Kostüme), Raimund Orfeo Voigt (Bühnenbild), Gloria Jieun Choi (Cio-Cio-San), Susan Zarrabi (Suzuki), Karolina Gumos (Suzuki), Naomi Steele (Kate Pinkerton), Mihails Culpajevs (Pinkerton), Günter Papendell (Sharpless), Johannes Dunz (Goro), Ivan Turšić (Fürst Yamadori), Dimitry Ivashchenko (Onkel Bonze), Artyom Wasnetsow (Onkel Bonze), Jaewon Kwak (Kaiserlicher Kommissar), Simon Wallfisch (Onkel Yakusidé), Philipp Schreyer (Standesbeamter), Matthias Spenke (Standesbeamter), SaeEum Jang (Cio-Cio-Sans Mutter), Paula Rummel (Tante), Sabine Hill (Tante), Lea Maria Koch (Cousine), Kyriaki Sirlantzi (Cousine), Aya Yasuda (Darsteller), Jun Azuma (Darsteller), Atsushi Takahashi (Darsteller), Natsuki Katori (Darsteller), Megumi Eda (Darsteller), Tomoya Kawamura (Darsteller), Shintaro Oue (Darsteller), Chorsolisten der Komischen Oper Berlin (Chor)
Koproduktion mit dem Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, der Opéra National de Lyon und den Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
Alternative events
© Andy Phillipson
Kintsugi by Machine de Cirque
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- Next date:
- Kintsugi
- Date:
- Saturday, 21/November/2026 17:00 (30 more dates)
- Venue:
- Chamäleon Berlin (in den Hackeschen Höfen)
- Address:
- Rosenthaler Straße 40/41, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
- Price:
- from €49.10
© Eventim
Das schräge Krimi-Dinner -Peter Anders & Yvonne Arendt
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- Next date:
- Das schräge Krimi-Dinner - Die Rache ist mein!
- Date:
- Saturday, 21/November/2026 18:00
- Venue:
- Sonnenhof 1864
- Address:
- Dorfplatz 13, 01968 Senftenberg
- Price:
- from €93.66
© Eventim
Können Sterne Lügen? - Astronomie und Astrologie -- zwei "Schwestern"? | Planetarium Frankfurt
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- Next date:
- Können Sterne Lügen?
- Date:
- Saturday, 21/November/2026 18:00
- Venue:
- Planetarium Frankfurt (Oder)
- Address:
- Mühlenweg, 15232 Frankfurt (Oder)
- Price:
- from €10.07
©Raisa Kanareva - stock.adobe.com
Dinner & Show | Potsdam
- Next date:
- Dinner & Show
- Date:
- Saturday, 21/November/2026 18:00
- Venue:
- Bella Italia Zum Starstecher
- Address:
- Leiblstraße 12, 14467 POTSDAM
- Price:
- from €82.31
© Eventim
Mystic Magic Show - Zaubershow mit Lion Badree
Egal ob Du glaubst oder nichtdie Magie baut dein Leben auf. Wir bieten interaktive mental Magie in einer intimen Atmosphäre kleiner Gruppen mit direktem Zugang zum Magier an. moreabout: Mystic Magic Show - Zaubershow mit Lion Badree
- Next date:
- Mystic Magic Show - Zaubershow
- Date:
- Saturday, 21/November/2026 18:00 (6 more dates)
- Venue:
- Ordinary Magic
- Address:
- Poststraße 25, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
- Price:
- from €49.39
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