Potsdamer Winteroper: La Resurrezione

Advance tickets available starting December 1 through the Hans Otto Theater (0331 9811-8, kasse@hansottotheater.de)

With “La Resurrezione,” George Frideric Handel created a stirring masterpiece of Baroque musical splendor. Premiered in Rome in 1708, the work strikes a balance between drama and contemplation, forming a genre of its own that lies between oratorio and opera, and powerfully tells the story of life’s victory over death. Angels and demons philosophize about the meaning of the Resurrection and test their strength against one another, while Mary Magdalene, Cleopas, and Saint John mourn at Jesus’s tomb.

Death and resurrection, grief and life, resignation and hope: Handel brings humanity’s existential themes to the stage through virtuoso arias and richly colored orchestral sounds, lending the story of the Resurrection dramatic depth and emotional intensity.

Konrad Junghänel, who has played a key role in the successful development of the Potsdam Winter Opera, once again serves as music director. Annika Nitsch will direct; she most recently staged a production at the National Theater in Mannheim and produced Udo Zimmermann’s chamber opera *Die weiße Rose* for the Nuremberg State Theater at the Gustav-Adolf Memorial Church. Set and costume designer Linda Siegismund, who has previously worked for the Chemnitz Theater, the Nuremberg State Theater, and the Semperoper Dresden, has been brought on board for the production design.

Following the acclaimed premiere of Johann Christian Bach’s opera “Zanaida” in February 2026, the Potsdam Winter Opera will once again perform at the Friedenskirche Sanssouci this season due to the continued closure of the Schlosstheater in the Neues Palais. In previous years, several Handel oratorios have already been impressively staged there for the Potsdam Winter Opera under the musical direction of Konrad Junghänel, such as Lydia Steier’s acclaimed production of “Jephtha” in 2013.

A program introduction will be held one hour before the start of each performance.
Running time: approx. 2 hours without an intermission.

A co-production with the Hans Otto Theater