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Experience the raw intensity of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck at the 28th Beijing Music Festival. This gripping three-act opera, produced by acclaimed Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Belgium and accompanied by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Charles Dutoit, brings to life a haunting tale of despair and human struggle. Don’t miss this powerful production, where music and stage intertwine to create an unforgettable theatrical masterpiece.

“Opera Ballet Vlaanderen are a high energy, adventurous troupe. In recent years they have become noticeably more contemporary, bolder with repertoire choices…”—Bachtrack

“With first desk players of exceptional ability, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra plays with exemplary polish and a fine sense of ensemble… emphasizing technical skills and cohesion.”—Presto Music

“Dutoit is without peer… the Swiss conductor guides in a flowing and natural fashion, showcasing his ability to lead orchestras with clarity and elegance.”—Chicago Classical Review

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Belgium

Belgium’s premier performing arts institution, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, is the largest cultural organization in Flanders. Based in Antwerp and Ghent, the company is renowned for its innovative approach, blending opera, ballet, concerts and music theater into living contemporary art forms.

Under Artistic Director Jan Vandenhouwe, the ensemble pushes boundaries with bold repertoire choices, seamlessly integrating classic works with modern creations. Known for high-energy performances and technical expertise, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Belgium is captivating audiences worldwide.

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit

For a gripping performance of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the 28^th Beijing Music Festival presents the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China’s oldest orchestra. Founded in 1879, the orchestra under the current leadership of music director Long Yu has become a cultural beacon with global acclaim.

Praised for its “exemplary polish” and “muscular, dramatic sound,” the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra performs Wozzeck led by the legendary Grammy-winning maestro Charles Dutoit. Celebrated for his “natural leadership” and “dazzling acute intelligence,” Dutoit has made more than 200 acclaimed recordings, showcasing his unparalleled ability to bring vivid color and precision to complex scores.

Wozzeck

Alban Berg’s Wozzeck is an expressionist tale of a mentally unstable soldier tormented by a brutal society and ultimately driven to murder and suicide. Berg explores themes of poverty, madness and dehumanization in a fractured, modern world in a tight musical structure with dissonant sonorities reflecting the psychological disintegration and oppressive world of its protagonist.

Don’t miss the visionary production of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit at the 28^th BMF. The performance promises a striking fusion of emotional depth and scenic innovation.

Charles Dutoit– conductor

Captivating audiences throughout the world for over six decades, Charles Dutoit has been one of today's most sought-after conductors, having performed with all the major orchestras on five continents. He received two of the most prestigious honors in the music world: in 2017, the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the “Premio Una Vita Nella Musica 2022” from the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Former Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, he has enjoyed an artistic collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra that spanned 32 years. He has regularly appeared with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and has been a regular guest on the stages of London, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Hamburg, Moscow, Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Charles Dutoit was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for twenty-five years and held the same position from 1991 to 2011 with the Orchestre National de France. He is Music Director Emeritus of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo after having served as Principal Conductor and Music Director.

Charles Dutoit's interest in mentoring the young generation has led to positions as Music Director of the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival and Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan as well as the Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou, China and the Lindenbaum Festival in Seoul, South Korea. Music Director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra between 2009 and 2017, he is now Conductor Emeritus.

He has toured China 35 times, giving Chinese premieres of such works as Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Britten’s War Requiem, Strauss’s operas Elektra and Salome.

When still in his early 20’s, Charles Dutoit was invited by Herbert van Karajan to conduct at the Vienna State Opera. He has since conducted at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Rome Opera and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

In 2014, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Classical Music Awards and received the Gold Medal from the city of Lausanne in 2016. His more than 200 recordings have garnered multiple awards and distinctions including two Grammys.

A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political science, art and architecture, he has traveled in all 196 nations of the world.

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is one of the earliest and best-known orchestral ensemble of its kind in Asia, through which Chinese symphonic music has developed. Originally known as the Shanghai Public Band, it was renamed the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra in 1922. Notably under the baton of the Italian conductor Mario Paci, the orchestra promoted Western music and trained Chinese young talents very early on in China, and was the first to introduce the first Chinese orchestral music to the audiences, hence known as "the best in the Far East".

With a long history of 146 years, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra may be referred to as the history of China's symphonic music development. Spanning three different centuries, the Shanghai Symphony has now embraced a new era; it has held over ten thousand concerts – giving premiere performances of several thousand musical works and has played a major role in collaborations between world-class musicians on both the international and domestic stages, gained a reputation as the most authoritative explainer of Chinese symphonic compositions while promoting them with every possible endeavor. It was the very first orchestra in China to institute a Governing Council and to manage a high-quality concert season with a ticket pre-sale system. The orchestra created a series of musical products, including: the Concert Season, the Shanghai New Year’s Concert, the Spring Festival Concert, the Music in the Summer Air. These performances have not only fostered cultural exchange but have also built a bridge between people, orchestras and nations.

The Orchestra also pioneered co-commissioning with world leading orchestras from well-known composers: One Sweet Morning was co-commissioned by the Orchestra and New York Philharmonic from composer John Corigliano; Duo was co-commissioned by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra from Zhao Lin; also the commission works such as Symphonic Overture Instants d'un Opera de Pekin and La joie de la souffrance composed by Qigang Chen, Symphonic Suite Dunhuang composed by Xiaogang Ye, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains by Zhao Lin, The Wheel of Time by Fay Kueen Wang, Symphonic Dances The Legend of Monkey King by Liu Sola, Wuxia - Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Jin Yong and Chinese Kitchen: A Feast of Flavors by Elliot Leung, Concerto for Erhu and Orchestra Nine Odes by Zhou Long. It has premiered the greatest number of contemporary Chinese works: In Memoriam by Huang Tzu, ten symphonies by Zhu Jian’er, and The Map by Tan Dun. The original soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon performed by the Orchestra even won the Oscar and a Grammy Award - a first in Chinese musical history. The Émigré, co-commissioned by Maestro Long Yu, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic gave its world premiere on November 2023. The oratorio composed by Aaron Zigman, with lyrics by Mark Campbell and Brock Walsh, will bring its further international performances by New York Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchestra Berlin, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024 and 2025.

Since the 1970s, it has toured extensively abroad: In 1990, the Orchestra made its debut at Carnegie Hall in New York; in 2003 it performed in 11 cities in the US; while in 2004, it toured Europe to celebrate the Sino-French Cultural Year. Its 125th Anniversary Celebration Concert given at the Berliner Philharmonie (the first Chinese symphony orchestra to play in this hall), was hailed as a great success. In 2009, under the direction of Maestro Long Yu, now the Music Director, the Orchestra embarked on a 12-concert North American tour. In July 2010, Long Yu led the Orchestra in a joint concert with the New York Philharmonic in the Central Park, New York, promoting the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Between 2012 and 2015, Long Yu conducted the Orchestra in several concerts in Germany, Netherlands, United States, Brazil which included the concert of the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of The World Anti-Fascist War in United Nations Hall. The Orchestra made the debut in Luzern and gave other concerts in Tirol, Grafenegg and Hamburg during the European tour in summer of 2017. Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Long Yu have signed an exclusive record contract with Deutsche Grammophon in June 2018 and its fourth album has been released in June 2024. The SSO celebrated its 140th anniversary with a three-week world tour in summer of 2019, during which the Orchestra made its debuts at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Wolf Trap Festival and Ravinia Festival in addition to return visits to Lucerne Festival, Grafenegg Festival and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

With Shanghai Symphony Hall officially put into use in September 2014 (renamed as Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall in 2021), the Orchestra carries centuries of dreams into reality, and starts the new orchestra-venue integration model. The SOA – a joint-initiative between the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music held the orientation for their students. The SSO in Chamber concerts which started in 1984 and held regularly since 1991 will be passed on into the new Chamber Hall. The 3rd Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition was successfully held.

Over the past 146 years, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra has fulfilled its mission of "Music Connecting Worlds". Under the guidance of the Shanghai city spirit, Chinese cultural characteristics, and world international trends, it has become a promoter and cultivator of Eastern and Western cultural exchanges and Asian music education, continuing its glorious dream for three centuries.

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music Choir

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music Choir is an ensemble of undergraduate student singers from the Vocal/Opera Department. Professor Liao Changyong, Deputy President of the Conservatory and Dean of the Vocal/Opera Department, serves as its director.

The Choir is energetic and strives for international recognition with a large repertoire that rivals any other conservatories. The Choir is well-trained with complete parts, bright tone and vivid expression. They offer programs of different music styles and large-scale choral works in such languages as Chinese, Italian, French, German, Russian, English and Latin. The Choir has participate in such opera productions as Aida, Carmen, Lucia de Lammermoor, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, Die Zauberflöte, Le Nozze de Figaro, Roméo et Juliette, Il Barbiere de Siviglia, as well as the Chinese opera Thunderstorm. Their concert appearances include Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Xian Xinghai’s The Yellow River Cantata and He Lvting’s Ming Tombs Reservoir. The Choir has also performed alongside international renowned artists such as John Nelson, Seiji Ozawa, Liao Changyong, Long Yu, Ying Huang as well as Tian Haojiang, well-acclaimed by professionals and audiences.

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music Choir has long been an essential participant in both Shanghai City and Music Conservatory events and conventions, having performed in The Yellow River Cantata 70th anniversary special event, the 90th Anniversary Commemoration of the founding of the Communist Party of China and “Romantic Evening—A Vocal performance of Distinguished World Classics.” The Choir has won numerous choral competitions including First prize in the Harbin Summer Festival National Chorus Competition in 1998. Many choir members have been selected to participate in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy and other major international music events. The Choir has also interacted and collaborated with Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

Beijing Philharmonic Choir

The Beijing Philharmonic Choir was founded in 1983 by Prof. Yang Hongnian, a renowned conductor and music educator. Prof. Yang Li is now the Artistic Director and Resident Conductor of the Choir.

Over the past four decades, the choir has nurtured nearly ten thousand music-loving children, accumulated over a thousand Chinese and foreign choral works, performed nearly a thousand concerts, toured extensively across Europe, the Americas, Asia, as well as many other countries and regions including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, recorded and released thirty-two sets of audio-visual materials (including CDs and DVDs), published seven collections of children’s chorus scores, and has won over forty major awards at various international competitions.

In 2008, the Choir performed the official Olympic anthem—Olympic Hymn—adapted by Prof. Yang Hongnian for the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing. In February 2022, the Choir was invited to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games, performing the theme song Snowflake.

With the mission of “Love & Devotion,” the Choir has been active in charitable events and public concerts, sharing love and the beauty of music with everyone.

Robin Adams – Wozzeck

British baritone Robin Adams is a renowned interpreter of contemporary repertoire. He was a member of the ensembles at Landestheater Linz and Konzerttheater Bern, where he performed title roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. He has also appeared on international stages including La Scala, Teatro Colón, Royal Opera House London, La Monnaie/De Munt, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Adams has sung in world premieres of works by contemporary composers such as Luca Francesconi (Quartett), Georg Friedrich Haas (Liebesgesang), and Wim Henderickx (The Triumph of Spirit over Matter). He made his debut at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in the 2018/19 season as Mr. Kallenbach in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha.

Magdalena Anna Hofmann – Marie

Polish-Austrian soprano Magdalena Anna Hofmann studied voice in Vienna and began her career as a mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire includes major roles such as Leonore (Fidelio, Beethoven), the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier, R. Strauss), Giorgetta (Il tabarro, Puccini), Isolde (Tristan und Isolde), Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Brünnhilde (Siegfried) and Kundry (Parsifal), all by Wagner.

She has appeared at prestigious venues including the Semperoper Dresden, Staatstheater Hannover, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Royal Danish Opera, Opéra national de Lyon, Theater an der Wien, and the Bregenz Festival. Hofmann has worked with conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Ádám Fischer, Daniel Harding and Kirill Petrenko, and with stage directors including Johannes Erath, David Pountney and Keith Warner.

Michael Schade – Hauptmann

Hailed as one of the world’s leading tenors, German Canadian Michael Schade performs on every major opera stage and in the most prestigious concert halls of the world. He has earned a reputation as a stellar concert and recital soloist with his vast repertoire ranging from Bach’s Passions to Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Michael Schade performed with the leading international orchestras under renowned conductors such as Bolton, Harding, Harnoncourt, Jansons, Järvi, Manacorda, Muti, Nagano, Nézet-Séguin, Rattle, Thielemann and Young, which has been documented on numerous appraised recordings.

The Vienna State Opera has awarded him with the title Austrian Kammersänger. Since 2014 Michael Schade is the artistic director of the Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk (Austria).

Martin Winkler – Doktor

Austrian bass-baritone Martin Winkler studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Walter Berry. He made his debut in 2003 as Nekrotzar in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at the Komische Oper Berlin and later joined the ensembles of Staatstheater Schwerin and Komische Oper Berlin. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Volksoper Wien ensemble.

Winkler has performed on major opera stages including Bayerische Staatsoper, Bayreuth Festival, La Monnaie/De Munt, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2024, he received an award from Teatro Real Madrid for his portrayal of Kovalev in Shostakovich’s The Nose. He has held the honorary title of Kammersänger of the Austrian state since 2022.

Samuel Sakker – Tambourmajor

Australian tenor Samuel Sakker studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House from 2014 to 2016. His repertoire includes roles such as Florestan (Fidelio, Beethoven), Alfredo (La traviata, Verdi), Cavaradossi (Tosca, Puccini), Tichon and Boris (Katya Kabanová), and the title roles in Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, and Parsifal (Wagner).
He has appeared with companies including Melbourne Opera, Ópera de Oviedo, Scottish Opera, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Oper Graz, and the Glyndebourne Festival. At Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Sakker was previously seen as Tristan in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (2023).

Hugo Kampschreur – Andres

Dutch tenor Hugo Kampschreur studied at the Utrecht Conservatory and the Dutch National Opera Academy in Amsterdam. He has also participated in masterclasses with Margreet Honig, Rebecca Rota, Floris Visser, Peter Kooij and Kirsten Schötteldreier.

He made his debut at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in the 2022/23 season as Junger Seemann and Ein Hirt in Tristan und Isolde (Wagner). Other appearances with the company include Lost & Found (Van Parys) and Die sieben Todsünden (Weill). Since the 2024/25 season, Kampschreur has been part of the company’s Young Ensemble and has performed in Madama Butterfly, Iphigénie en Tauride, Salome and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (An Empty House).

Lotte Verstaen – Margret

Belgian mezzo-soprano Lotte Verstaen studied voice at LUCA School of Arts in Leuven. During her studies, she was a laureate of the MM Academy at La Monnaie/De Munt in the 2020/21 season. She rose to prominence at the international opera studio of Oper Köln, performing in productions such as Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz), Rusalka (Dvořák), and Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart).

Since then, she has appeared at venues including the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. At Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, she has performed in Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Fledermaus. This season, she appears in Madama Butterfly, Barzakh and Wozzeck.

Reuben Mbonambi – Handwerkbursch I

South African bass Reuben Mbonambi earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management before studying at the South African College of Music in Cape Town. In 2022, he won third prize at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition. He is a member of the Judith Neilson Young Artist Programme at Cape Town Opera.

Mbonambi is frequently invited as a soloist by various choirs and orchestras across South Africa. Since the 2023/24 season, he has been part of the Young Ensemble of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. Earlier this season, he appeared in Madama Butterfly, Barzakh, Salome, and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (An Empty House).

Leander Carlier– Handwerkbursch II 

Born in 2000, the baritone Leander Carlier obtained his master's degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, in the class of Gary Jankowski. In 2023, he debuted at the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie De Munt as Un Huissier de la Cour in Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII. Then, other appearances such as Second Son in Shostakovich’s The Nose (La Monnaie, 2023), Amir in K. Chemirani’s Negar (Opéra national de Montpellier, 2024), Zweiter Nazarener in R. Strauss’ Salome (Flanders Opera, 2025) and Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Dutch National Opera, 2025) are elevating him as one of the best Belgian singers of his generation. Carlier is a winner of the Aria Voice Competition 2024, by NPO Channel (The Netherlands).

Among his next engagements, he will sing the roles of Morales in Bizet’s Carmen at the Flanders Opera, Bernardino in Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini at the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie.

Cui Qirui – Narr 

Tenor Cui Qirui studies under doctoral supervisor and tenor Professor Gu Ping. Cui entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2018 with the highest professional score, winning the Outstanding Freshman Scholarship. In 2023, he was named Outstanding Graduate to pursue a master’s degree based on his top scores.

In recent years, Cui has won awards in international vocal competitions, participated in many concerts, performed at Austria’s “Due Mondi” Music Festival in 2024 (his vocal texture praised as “lava chocolate”) and appeared at Vienna’s Old City Hall in 2025.

Yifan Sun, conductor

Yifan Sun, currently Conductor-in-Residence of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, is the 1st prize winner of the 10th International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest. In 2022 Sun was among the illustrious list of “Ten Leading Chinese Young Conductors” selected jointly by various state level cultural and arts institutions in China. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the mentorship of Maestro Long Yu, whose guidance and inspiration has helped Yifan Sun develop his career solidly. His previous positions include Assistant Conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kunming Nie Er Symphony.

Julia Strelchenko – piano/repetiteur 

Julia Strelchenko enjoys a busy schedule as pianist, vocal coach and conductor. Currently on staff at Hannover State Opera in Germany, many years of experience have led her to Zurich Opera, Norwegian State Opera and Bonn Opera House.

Julia has worked with many prominent conductors such like Alejo Perez, Dirk Kaftan, Daniele Gatti, Michail Jurowski and John Fiore. Alongside with her engagement at Hannover State Opera, she is also much in demand as a chamber musician and art song pianist.

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) presents opera, ballet, concerts and music theater as dynamic and contemporary art forms from its home bases in Ghent and Antwerp. Through its “Vonk” program, the company provides a platform for young creators to experiment and innovate, while fostering participatory co-creation. As Flanders’ largest cultural institution, OBV houses a symphony orchestra, choir, children’s choir and a ballet ensemble.  

Each year, OBV merges opera and ballet in unique hybrid productions, such as Alain Platel’s C(H)ŒURS 2022 (Verdi/Wagner), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Satyagraha (Philip Glass), and Alan Lucien Øyen’s Rusalka (Dvořák). Recent notable opera productions include Franz Schreker’s Der Schmied von Gent directed by Ersan Mondtag, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde by Philippe Grandrieux, Schumann’s Szenes aus Goethes Faust by video artist Julian Rosefeldt and choreographer Femke Gyselinck, as well as world premieres such as Les Bienveillantes (Hèctor Parra) and De bekeerlinge (Wim Henderickx). The Ballet’s associate artists are Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Jermaine Maurice Spivey, and Jan Martens—whose FUTUR PROCHE premiered in 2021 at the Cour d’honneur in Avignon. Other acclaimed ballet productions in recent years include Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Mozart / Concert Arias, Akram Khan’s Creature, and the double bill New Ballet mécanique / Half Life by Richard Siegal and Sharon Eyal.

JOHAN SIMONS – director

Johan Simons began his career as an actor and director in 1976 with the Haagsche Comedie. In 1985, he co-founded Theatergroep Hollandia with Paul Koek, serving as artistic director until 2005. From 2005 to 2010, he led NTGent, establishing its international reputation through bold and visionary programming. He then served as intendant of the Münchner Kammerspiele (2010–2015) and artistic director of the Ruhrtriennale (2015–2017). Since 2018, he has been artistic director of Schauspielhaus Bochum.

He received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University in 2009 and was awarded the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Prize in 2014—the highest artistic honor in the Netherlands.

SAMMY VAN DEN HEUVEL – scenographer

Sammy Van den Heuvel studied architecture and scenography under Katleen Vinck, among others. He spent eight years as assistant to set designer Annette Kurz, working closely on productions with Luk Perceval and Ensemble Resonanz, while developing his own scenographic work. Collaborations with Giacomo Veronesi, Jorinde Keesmaat, and Tom Goossens brought him to various opera and theatre houses across Europe.

Since 2017, he has been resident set designer with the Dutch dance company Panama Pictures. In the 2024/25 season, he created his first concert set design for B’Rock Orchestra. At Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, he previously designed Szenen aus Goethes Faust (2022) and Le nozze di Figaro (2023).

GRETA GOIRIS – costume designer

Greta Goiris studied costume design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and scenography at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. She created her first designs for Jacques Delcuvellerie in Brussels and Avignon. Since 2001, she has frequently collaborated with Johan Simons on productions for Ruhrtriennale, Salzburg Festival, Burgtheater Wien, Münchner Kammerspiele, and Schauspielhaus Bochum.
Her work also includes collaborations with Pierre Audi, Ivo van Hove, Karin Beyer, Josse De Pauw, and Peter Verhelst. Since 2005, she has regularly designed costumes for the opera productions and video installations of director William Kentridge.

Friedrich Rom – lighting designer

Austrian lighting designer Friedrich Rom has served as head of lighting at venues such as Theater in der Josefstadt, Rabenhof Theater, Volksoper Wien and Burgtheater Wien, the latter where he was active from 1999 to 2023. He has also worked with Staatstheater Stuttgart, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra national du Rhin, Wiener Staatsoper and Teatro alla Scala. Since 2002, he has regularly contributed lighting designs for the Salzburg Festival. Rom has collaborated with directors including Andrea Breth, Simon Stone, Claus Peymann, Leander Haußmann, Hans Neuenfels, Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, Karin Beier, Robert Carsen and Luc Bondy. In 2005, he was nominated for the Nestroy Theatre Prize.

Koen Tachelet – dramaturgy

Koen Tachelet was head dramaturg under director Johan Simons at NTGent from 2005 to 2010, playing a key role in its revitalization. In 2010, he followed Simons to the Münchner Kammerspiele, where he worked until 2015. Since 2001, he has collaborated with directors such as Ivo van Hove, Lies Pauwels, Jossi Wieler, Christoph Marthaler and Alain Platel, as well as collectives like Wunderbaum and FC Bergman. He has adapted novels for the stage by authors including Michel Houellebecq, Arnon Grunberg, Joseph Roth and Elena Ferrante. Previous collaborations with Simons have been staged at Burgtheater Wien, Schauspielhaus Bochum and the Salzburg Festival.

Maarten Boussery – dramaturgy

Maarten Boussery studied English-German philology and comparative literature at the universities of Ghent and Hamburg. Since 2019, he has provided editorial and in-house dramaturgical support for several productions at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, including Der Schmied von Gent (Ersan Mondtag) and Szenen aus Goethes Faust (Julian Rosefeldt). In 2022, he officially joined the company as a dramaturg. He currently works on Wozzeck (Johan Simons) and Barzakh (Thomas Bellinck and Osama Abdulrasol, in collaboration with people in detention). Beyond Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, he has supported ensembles such as Goggles and the Leuven University Choir. He is also active as a presenter, writer, and lecturer.

Robin Adams Wozzeck, baritone

Magdalena Anna Hofmann Marie, mezzo-soprano

Michael Schade Hauptmann, tenor

Martin Winkler Doktor, bass-baritone

Samuel Sakker Tambourmajor, tenor

Hugo Kampschreur Andres, tenor

Lotte Verstaen Margret, mezzo-soprano

Rueben Mbonambi Handwerksbursch I, bass

Leander Carlier Handwerksbursch II, baritone

Qirui Cui Narr, tenor

Yifan Sun, assistant conductor

Julia Strelchenko, piano/repetiteur

Beijing Philharmonic Choir

Shanghai Conservatory of Music Choir

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Charles Dutoit, conductor

Based on Georg Büchner’s dramatic fragment Woyzeck

This production of Wozzeck is a creation of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Belgium. It premiered on June 1, 2025.

Johan Simons, director

Sammy Van den Heuvel, scenographer

Greta Goiris, costume designer

Flóra Kruppa, costume designer

Friedrich Rom, lighting designer

Koen Tachelet, dramaturgy

Maarten Boussery, dramaturgy

Sascha-Alexander Todtner, assistant director

Linde Raedschelders, technical and production director

Nannan Jia, technical director

Yaoyao Fu, production manager  

Hans Wils, stage manager

Roel Bouquet, technical stage manager

Marie Willems, prop manager

Aimée Van den Broeke, costume assistant

Laurens Claas, lighting assistant

Dr. Joanna Lee, surtitle translation

HarrisonParrott, international project manager

The program is subject to change.