Staatsoper Unter den Linden: W.A. Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Upcoming production 27 June 2026

Mozart’s “Die Entführung aus dem Serail”, premiered in Vienna in 1782 as a key work of the “German National Singspiel” promoted by Emperor Joseph II, is today regarded as a complex and at times not entirely unproblematic opera. Different cultures and mentalities collide, and concepts of gender are conveyed that are at the very least open to discussion. Mozart’s opera is a work that must be understood in the context of its time, and its performance in the present day raises a number of questions.
In the new production at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, space is to be given precisely to this aspect of questioning and reflection. Featuring the well-known comedian Bülent Ceylan, who humorously explores his German and Turkish identity in his stage work, the production takes on a distinctive character. Ceylan will not only perform the spoken role of Bassa Selim, but also act as a commentator and interpreter of the events.
The staging seeks to make both German (Central/Western European) and Turkish perspectives visible. Director Andrea Moses envisions an entertaining spectacle that deliberately departs from traditional operatic conventions, operating at the intersection of so-called “high” (E) and “popular” (U) art to attract new audiences, while re-examining the opera within a fresh theatrical framework.