Musical theater highlights: Students present MOVIE. OPERA” in Essen!

Musical theater highlights: Students present MOVIE. OPERA” in Essen!

On June 11, 2025, the anticipation of a special musical theater evening is clearly noticeable. The interdisciplinary project “MOVIE. OPERA” is staged at the Folkwang University of the Arts. The program includes a selection of significant solo pieces drawn from classical operas, including Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro", Puccini's "La Bohème", Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" and Wagner's "Tannhäuser". The premiere will take place on Wednesday, June 18th at 7:30 p.m. in the Pina Bausch Theater, Essen-Werden campus.

The evening opens with an innovative choreography by master's student Teresa Curotti, who studies at the Institute for Contemporary Dance. The event provides a platform for students of the Singing course Musical theater that presents selected arias. Not only her singing, but also the emotionality of the pieces are visually discussed in short films. The aim is to interpret and express the individual emotional worlds of the arias.

Experienced management

The film is directed by Sabine Hahn, an experienced producer and director with over 20 years of experience who has been a lecturer at Folkwang University since 2012. The musical direction is the responsibility of Ana-Maria Dafova, also a teacher at the university. The ensemble is made up of talented singing students, among whom Sofia Asghari, Solitaire Bachhuber and Tetiana Bielokoneva stand out.

The factory demonstrations on Friday, June 20th and Saturday, June 21st at 7:30 p.m. will provide another opportunity to experience this special project. Ticket prices are 7 euros (reduced 5 euros), while students with a school ID get free entry.

More musical highlights

In addition to “MOVIE. OPERA”, the Folkwang University also offers the “Folkwang Wind Classics” event, which took place on May 14th. Led by Thomas Ludes and Christopher Houlding, the Folkwang wind ensemble together with the Folkwang BRASS BAND presented a varied program that included, among other things, the “Sonatina No. 2 for 16 woodwinds” by Richard Strauss and sounds from Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino”. This event marks another significant moment in the cultural life of the university.

With a ticket price of 5 euros (reduced 3 euros), this evening was accessible and offered a forum for the wind players and the brass band, the first of its kind at a German music college, which has staged numerous performances since its founding in the winter semester of 2005.

Perspectives for music mediators

Parallel to the performances, there is a comprehensive further training program for musical theater educators at the Federal Academy for Cultural Education in Wolfenbüttel, which runs from August 2024 to June 2025. It is aimed at people from the arts and mediation sectors and offers practical modules on topics such as collective storytelling and discourses of participation.

Participants have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of contemporary arts and develop their group leadership skills. After completing the series, participants receive a certificate that documents the skills they have gained.

Those interested must register by May 31, 2024, while further information is available from the Federal Academy. With these diverse offerings, Folkwang University reinforces its status as an important educational and cultural center in Germany.

All events and further information can be found on the relevant websites of the Folkwang University and the Federal Academy.

Folkwang University, Culture server NRW, Federal Academy for Cultural Education