A new era at the Zurich Opera House

Matthias Schulz would struggle to choose a more symbolic date for the start of his new role. On 1 August 2025, the Bavarian-born director began his first season as Director of the Zurich Opera House.

It’s a popular scene: in the film Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts, in the role of Vivian Ward, attends an opera for the first time in her life and is so deeply moved by the story of an unknown world that she bursts into tears. Opera has fascinated audiences for four centuries because it is the great art of emotions. It goes straight to the heart and takes the audience on a journey that lasts several hours and reflects all areas of society: love, loyalty, betrayal, revenge, conflict and a whole host of emotions.

“Opera is always a bit too much of everything,” says the new director of the Zurich Opera House, Matthias Schulz. ​“It is an art form in which everything comes together: music, text, architecture, impressive stage design, new technologies and much more.” Opera still occasionally carries the aura of elitism. Yet its firm foothold in the mainstream has long been evident, as proven most recently by the victory of Austrian star JJ (Johannes Pietsch) at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. With his song Wasted Love, a blend of operatic elements and electro beats, the countertenor won over both the jury and a television audience of millions. The classically trained opera singer of Filipino descent loves both classical music and pop, and regularly performs at the Vienna State Opera. The fascination of powerful voices, grand emotions and theatrical productions is a recurring theme in pop music. Who doesn’t remember the legendary crossover Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé? Lady Gaga (Alejandro) and Lana Del Rey (Born to Die) have both also draw upon the opulence of opera. The result: songs brimming with drama and emotion that would otherwise only be heard on stage.

“Opera is not only a thing of the past, it has a powerful relevance today. In times of digital overstimulation, there is a growing desire for authentic experiences, which is something opera can provide,” says Matthias Schulz. Following the motto of his predecessor Andreas Homoki, ​“Opera for All”, he wants to make the Zurich Opera House an open and inclusive place for all age and social groups. In professional circles, the 44-year-old is considered the ideal person to carry out generational change. And the Bavarian-born director knows the field inside out. A trained concert pianist and economist, he worked for ten years at the Berlin State Opera on Unter den Linden before taking up his post in Zurich. Prior to that, he held various positions at the Salzburg Festival.

Opera Festival: 24h Opernhaus

One night and one day at the Opera House. On the first weekend of the new season (19 and 20 September 2025), Zurich’s historic landmark can be explored in a somewhat unusual way. From Friday 11 p.m. to Saturday 11 p.m., the Opera House is opening its doors and inviting visitors to experience the venue from an entirely new perspective. Admission is free. Also worth a look: named Oper im Quartier, a new venue is opening in Zurich-Oerlikon. It offers an opportunity to present music theatre in smaller contemporary forms and to surprise the younger generation with a wide range of activities to get involved.

First season of the new director

An impressive 17 premieres: thirteen operas and four ballets. The 2025/2026 season promises a lively and diverse programme – from classics to rarities and unusual works. The season opens with Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Director Lydia Steier is staging the profound social comedy with an aesthetic concept by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. Other premieres include Verdi’s La forza del destino with the incomparable Anna Netrebko as Donna Leonora, Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, new productions of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus as well as Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. The season concludes with Wagner’s Tannhäuser, staged by Icelandic director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson.

Information: opernhaus​.ch

It all began with The Magic Flute: The History of the Zurich Opera House

The history of the Zurich Opera House began in 1834 with the performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the newly opened Actien-Theater, which was founded by theatre-loving citizens. A devastating fire on New Year’s Eve 1889/1890 completely destroyed the theatre. After only 16 months of construction, the new ​“City Theatre” designed by the Viennese architectural office Fellner & Helmer, was inaugurated and became the first opera house in Europe with electrical lighting. Today, the Zurich Opera House presents itself as a modern venue that combines old and new. Classics by Verdi or Wagner stand alongside contemporary music theatre, innovative ballet productions and open formats such as ​“Opera for All”.

Don’t miss a thing — we’ll keep you up to date!

Sign up for our newsletter.