We explore why adults are not always right and why young people should be listened to more often – not only when it comes to the future, but also here and now!
That’s where you come in: SPEAK UP.
For three days, we’ll make theatre together: Write your own texts, create a performance, or make an announcement. You can be loud, quiet, angry, thoughtful… come to the stage just as you are. And if you don’t want to be on stage (yet), you can also support the production behind the scenes.
Theatre is everything: music, texts, images, speeches, arguing, making up, and trying things out. On stage, you can experiment and practise the things you dream of doing. The two artists Huda and Saki will accompany you throughout this workshop. They will support you in finding your ideas and bringing them to life.
Neuköllner Oper invites five solo artists and collectives who will be featured throughout the 2026/27 season to present 11-minute miniature performances offering insights into their artistic practices and a preview of the season ahead. The equation is simple: 1 studio × 5 artists × 11 minutes = STUDIO 55.
WHAT DOES YOUTH SOUND LIKE? Open-air Season Opening in the Passage On 12 September 2026
Loud, angry, melancholic, bored, wild, creative? How do young people respond to an era in which multiple crises cast a shadow over the future? Throughout the 2026/27 season, Neuköllner Oper will provide a platform for young people in a variety of productions and projects, making space for what they have to say – and how they choose to say it. The season opens with the first voices of Berlin youth clubs, initiatives, and curious young people in the Passage Neukölln.
VOX HUMANA A Singspiel From 17 September 2026
What can the human voice do? It can sing, speak, pray, heal, protest, perform an opera, create a performance, or deliver a pop hit. Opera Aperta, a collective of Ukrainian artists living and working under the constant threat of Russia’s ongoing war of annihilation, explores these and many other questions in the season-opening production VOX HUMANA.
PÖBELARIEN From 26 September 2026
The music theatre collective die schlangenknaben invites audiences to crawl into costumes, chew on operatic arias, and burrow through the canon of Western opera – from Carmen to The Magic Flute to Tannhäuser. They keep what nourishes them. Everything else is discarded.
For her graduation production in the Master’s programme in Music Theatre Directing at the Hanns Eisler School of Music, Marlene Schleicher joins singers, musicians, and young people from Neukölln to explore one of Surrealism’s masterpieces: Les mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tiresias) by Guillaume Apollinaire and Francis Poulenc’s opera of the same name. Questions of gender, nationality, and reproduction are reimagined in a contemporary surrealist vision of music theatre.
DARK CHRISTMAS A Christmas Concert Series From 22 November 2026
In DARK CHRISTMAS, Neuköllner Oper shifts the focus from the birth of Jesus to the deaths of three pop icons who all passed away a decade ago: George Michael, David Bowie, and Prince. Christmas music for everyone who loves the festive season – or can’t stand it. Featuring Mara Snip, seven_, Niko Meinhold, Sarah Taylor Ellis, and the Naked String Quartet, among others.
1984 A Musical Inspired by George Orwell From 26 November 2026
George Orwell’s 1984 is one of the defining classics of dystopian fiction and feels more relevant today than ever before. Emerging composer Rui Rodriguez and writer John von Düffel relocate Orwell’s story and characters to the year 2048 together with the third-year Musical Theatre students of Berlin University of the Arts.
BLUE HOUR From 28 January 2027
“If a colour cannot heal, can it at least awaken hope?” asks Maggie Nelson at the beginning of her book Bluets. Artists and thinkers such as Goethe, Wittgenstein, and Derek Jarman turned to colour—especially blue—in times of crisis. Sarah Thom, Manuela Schininà, and Ariel Efraim Ashbel join young participants from NO Jung in exploring the sensory power of blue as a way of creating community and imagining a more hopeful future.
DARK SCHLAGER glanz & krawall’s Ultimate TV Variety Show From 27 February 2027
German Schlager is a melting pot of contradictory desires: nostalgic notions of homeland and folk music collide with profound longings for simplicity, belonging, and romance in an increasingly unstable world. Berlin-based music theatre collective glanz & krawall dissects this uniquely German pop-cultural phenomenon, which remains widely dismissed as mere entertainment within theatres and opera houses.
BERLIN OPERA AWARD From 16 April 2027
Three emerging composers are given a year to create a 20-minute chamber opera based on Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, mentored by composer Moritz Eggert and librettist Bernhard Glocksin. The resulting works will be presented by students of the Hanns Eisler School of Music at Neuköllner Oper before the prize is awarded.
METROPOLIS On 23, 24 and 25 April 2027
To mark the centenary of Fritz Lang’s movie classic Metropolis, Neuköllner Oper and the (music) theatre collective Lauratibor invite young people to imagine the future. What will the world look like in 2127? What utopias and dystopias shape their vision of the next hundred years?
Following guest performances in Strasbourg, Ghent, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, and elsewhere, the acclaimed production HUNTER returns to Neuköllner Oper. Inspired by Björk, Liesa van der Aa joins Kat Frankie and the a cappella ensemble B O D I E S on a musical hunt for basketballs.
CRIME OF PASSION May 2027
Following a completely sold-out premiere run, CRIME OF PASSION returns to the repertoire. In this music theatre performance, Anthony Hüseyin investigates femicide on the opera stage, its historical roots, and its continued presence in everyday life.
VIEW FROM NOWHERE June 2027
Four figures meet on a small blue surreal golf course and are given an impossible task: to define the universal qualities of humanity. Unsurprisingly, they fail. At best, they arrive at a tragic description of who they are – or who they wish they were. Dutch music theatre duo Annelinde Bruijs (composition) and Suze Milius (direction) make their German debut at Neuköllner Oper with VIEW FROM NOWHERE.
SEASON FINALE With NO Jung June/July 2027
The season ends where it began: with a production centred on young people. For the first time, they will not only perform on stage but also take responsibility for the musical direction, directing, stage design, and every other aspect of creating a theatre production.
As part of our Passage Festival, WHERE IS UMM KULTHUM, the Yorck Cinema Group presents Shirin Neshat’s Looking for Oum Kulthum at Passage Kino.
For Mitra, an ambitious artist, mother, and wife in the prime of her life, a lifelong dream comes true: she is finally able to make a film about one of her heroines, the legendary Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum. But the difficult journey she embarks on – one that closely mirrors her heroine’s own – forces her to confront the struggles, sacrifices, and the price a woman must pay when she dares to cross the boundaries of a conservative, male-dominated society.
The screening takes place on Sunday, 5 July, at 17:00 at Passage Kino. Before and after the film, join us at the festival to continue the conversation with neighbours, artists, and fellow visitors.
Unfortunately, the performances of طرب / TARAB on 27 and 28 July have been cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Anyone who has already purchased tickets will be contacted by our Ticket Office and will receive a full refund.
Today’s performance, 26 June, will take place as scheduled. The auditorium is air-conditioned, and water and fans will be available.
If you want to get a first glimpse of طرب / TARAB, you have the chance this weekend, even before the premiere: This Saturday, June 6, the rbb Kulturmagazin will air a segment at 18:30, and the arte Journal at 19:20 about the evening on the “Callas of Egypt”, the singer Umm Kulthum .
Neuköllner Oper is looking for a Technical Director (full-time) at the earliest possible date.
Neuköllner Oper (NO) is a publicly funded independent production house based in Berlin-Neukölln. NO employs 15 permanent staff members across artistic production management (KBB), dramaturgy, communications, technical departments, costume, stage management, administration, box office, and front-of-house services. In addition, NO collaborates with freelance artists on a project basis, as well as with a pool of freelance technicians.
NO operates two performance venues (a main hall with approx. 180 seats and a stage of approx. 120 m², and a studio stage with approx. 50 seats and a stage of approx. 25–30 m²), as well as two rehearsal stages and a workshop for set construction. Each year, NO presents approximately 6–10 new productions and 3–4 revivals in the field of contemporary music theatre. With around 150 performances per year, NO reaches approximately 16,000 audience members.
WE OFFER
A full-time position at one of the most innovative and exciting venues for contemporary music theatre in Berlin
A leadership position with personnel responsibility and creative scope within the technical department
Flat hierarchies, a collaborative working culture, and fast decision-making processes within a small team
Collaboration with renowned (international) artists
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Professional and disciplinary management of the technical departments. The technical team consists of two technical production managers, one head of lighting, one head of sound, one facility technician, as well as additional freelance technicians
In addition to supervising the two technical production managers, you will take on the role of technical production manager for 3–4 productions per year. This includes technical planning in coordination with set designers, staff planning and scheduling, construction and realization of stage sets together with freelance technicians, and supervision of rehearsals and performances
Close collaboration with the management of NO and serving as the main point of contact for all staff regarding overarching technical matters
Inventory management, maintenance, and procurement of technical equipment
Acting as safety officer in accordance with the German Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS
Relevant leadership experience in theatre technology
Qualification as a stage master (Bühnenmeister) or master craftsperson in event technology specializing in stage/studio, or comparable professional experience
Flexibility, ability to work in a team, resilience, and an independent working style, as well as the physical capability for heavy lifting and working at heights
Willingness to work irregular hours, including evenings, weekends, and public holidays
Desirable:
Completed training as an event technology specialist or a skilled trade qualification (preferably woodworking, metalworking, or electrical professions)
Basic knowledge of sound, video, and lighting systems
Driver’s license class B and/or C1
Basic knowledge of set and stage construction
The salary is based on the collective agreement for public sector employees in the federal states of Berlin. The contract is initially fixed-term, with the option of becoming permanent.
Please send your application documents (cover letter, CV, and references) to: info@neukoellneroper.de
NO is committed to promoting diversity and equal opportunities. We therefore encourage applications from candidates of diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of qualifications.
Visit us with the venue tour NEUKÖLLNER PERLEN this Saturday, 7 March! Theatre, but different: the tour offers the chance to locate the independent scene in its historical and architectural context, meet its makers in person, and watch rehearsal excerpts. Berlin performer Bridge Markland will guide participants through the venues and introduce her colleagues. In Neukölln, the tour will also visit TATWERK | Performative Forschung and Heimathafen Neukölln. The venue tour was created by Theaterscoutings Berlin in collaboration with StattReisen Berlin.
Half a year ago, in September 2025, the music theatre group glanz&krawall transformed the courtyard of the Neuköllner Oper into an opera arena with BIG IN NEUKÖLLN! In the “Sonnenlichtspiele,” ordinary people as well as fringe and night-time characters from the neighborhood stepped up to the microphone and became opera stars.
Now you can watch impressions from the event online here:
Here you will find content from an external source.
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Almost every third day in Germany, a woman is killed because of her gender. The perpetrators are always men, most often from the immediate social environment. These murders represent the catastrophic, dehumanizing endpoint of psychological and physical violence against partners and ex-partners, daughters, and mothers within patriarchy. Femicide is carried out under the societal guise of “crimes of passion.” On stages across the country, femicides are additionally presented night after night as a “good murder,” a “beautiful murder,” as it is called in Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck.
The music theatre performance CRIME OF PASSION by Berlin-based performer and singer Anthony Hüseyin investigates the killing of women on the opera stage, its historical roots, and its presence in our everyday lives. Fatma Aydemir, Alvina Chamberland, and Martha-Luise Urbanek also engage with violence against FLINTA+ in their artistic, literary, performative, and journalistic practices – both on a personal and structural level. On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and following Hüseyin’s performance, they will collectively approach the topic of femicide in a talk on November 25.
The Berlin Festival for Contemporary Music Theatre BAM! asks in its current edition: Where do we go from here? How does the independent scene respond to rapid societal and global changes – and what forms does it find to do so? With Poland as the guest country, the focus is on a nation whose theatre has provided decisive impulses for the international avant-garde up to the present day. This time, NO serves as the festival center and presents several productions and discussions.
On 20 November, the festival celebrates its opening at NO with the concert Ep for a Deaf Poet and Double Bass. Afterwards, Ludmilla Mercier and Jakob Böttcher will present the world premiere of their piece LAVOMATIK. The two productions INNER MONOLOGUE and MISSPIECE highlight performance in a double evening on 21 November. In the panel YOUNG MUSIC THEATRE FROM POLAND featuring several theatre makers, current trends and their relationship to Polish theatre tradition will be discussed on 22November. Afterwards, a conversation will examine the festival’s guiding question: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
In September/Opening HUNTER A game with hearts and basketballs by and with Liesa van der Aa and Kat Frankie/BODIES inspired by Björk’s album HOMOGENIC
BIG IN NEUKÖLLN Glanz&krawall’s SUPER OPERA unites voices, songs, and sounds from the neighborhood and transforms the Passagenhof into an operatic arena.
STUDIO 66 Six individual artists and collectives, who will appear in various productions during the 2025/26 season, will offer insights into their work in short miniature formats, thus offering a preview of the upcoming season.
In October CRIME OF PASSION Why do Carmen, Violetta, and Salome have to die on stage again and again? Anthony Hüseyin and his team dare to reckon with femicide – not only on the operatic stage.
1000 AIRPLANES ON THE ROOF Paige Eakin Young and her team transform Philip Glass’s 1988 science fiction opera into the present day.
In November BAM! The festival for contemporary music theater in Berlin, for Berlin’s international scene of musicians of musical theater beyond the traditional operatic form, will also be held for the first time at the NO.
In December THE SECOND CHERRY ORCHARD Wolfgang Böhmer and Martin G. Berger’s musical about a garden on which so much depends – and which is still to be sold.
In January 26
GENEVIEVE MURPHY BAND A band on stage: singing, guitar sounds, body movements in time with the music… What is that? A concert, a gig, of course. Or perhaps more? Theater? Scottish composer and performer Genevieve Murphy and her band explore the theatrical dimensions of pop concerts.
In February 26
SELEMO A SPRING OPERA South African composers and performers Sbusiso Shozi and Nhlanhla Mahlangu from the Johannesburg Center for the Less Good Idea approach the concept of spring anew with their chamber opera SELEMO, using body, sound, and voice. African rites of passage meet baroque splendor, Vivaldi’s string concerto The Four Seasons meets Umkhosi woMhlanga, the ritual reed dance of the Swazis. In co-production with the Komische Oper Berlin.
April 26
NOISE. AN ANTI-FASCIST OPERA The Dutch music and performance collective Club Gewalt seeks to deal with our collective fears in a kind of music-theatrical group therapy. With noise music, Club Gewalt attempts to do justice to the “noises” in our society.
LAST EXIT EUROPE Europe – a continent, an idea, a center of power, and simultaneously a kidnapped king’s daughter. What has become of her, after more than two thousand years held hostage by various ideologies? Peter Cora Frost provides answers, personifying Europe at the table dance pole of a truck stop, on the side of a highway to freedom.
June 26
TARAB. An operatic ecstasy with music by Umm Kulthum Little known in the Western Hemisphere, singer Umm Kulthum is one of the greatest icons of classical Arabic music. Composer Nesrine Belmokh and director Sjaron Minailo dedicate an evening to Umm Kulthum, revolving around the recurring theme in her songs: love.
