Das grosse Feuer (The Great Fire) Tickets

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland

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Available Dates: 23 Mar - 11 Apr, 2025 (6 events)

Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Zurich, Switzerland

Sung in: German

Titles in: Spanish,German,English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Choose the date to see the peformers

Creators

Composer: Beat Furrer

Director: Tatjana Gürbaca

Librettist: Thomas Stangl

Overview

World Premiere. Opera by Beat Furrer after the novel «Eisejuaz» by Sara Gallardo. Libretto by Thomas Stangl

In his operas, the composer Beat Furrer, who was born in Schaffhausen and lives in Austria, likes to explore the extreme and terminal points of human existence. Spheres of existential exposure, desolation and proximity to death are always the starting points for his musico-dramatic explorations. His most recent opera, Das grosse Feuer, which is being premiered as a commission by the Opernhaus Zürich, takes us into the cosmos of an indigenous tribe in South America whose territory has been destroyed by colonization and Christian missionary work. At the center of the story is the leader and shaman Eisejuaz, a man with clairvoyant abilities who is miserably destroyed by modern civilization, which has advanced into the rainforest with devastating force. Eisejuaz stands between the cultures that determine his life: On the one hand, he is deeply rooted in the animistic spirituality of his indigenous community. He hears the voices of the wood in the sawmill where he works and has contact with supernatural animal spirits. At the same time, he is influenced by the Christian missionaries in whose station he grew up. A «voice of the Lord» tells him to save a human life. He transfers this mission of unconditional charity onto an obnoxious, racist white man named Pacqui, whom he cares for until he is betrayed in the most shameful way. Like the figure of Job, Eisejuaz loses everything – his wife, his home, his self-determined existence, his cultural orientation and ultimately his life.

The story of Beat Furrer's new opera, for which the Austrian writer Thomas Stangl wrote the libretto, is based on a novel published in 1971 by the Argentinian writer Sara Gallardo, who met a shaman called Eisejuaz while researching the living conditions of the indigenous Wichi tribe in northern Argentina. Das grosse Feuer is Furrer’s first large choral opera. For the world premiere production, the Opernhaus Zürich has engaged the Austrian choir Cantando Admont, a prestigious independent ensemble that specializes in contemporary choral works. Tatjana Gürbaca, who became one of the most important directors in Zurich under Andreas Homoki, is responsible for the production. The composer himself will conduct the world premiere.

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.