I came to Leipzig for a Wagner festival that they had in May 2016. The Leipzig Opera put on three rarely performed early Wagner works: Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. They were performed on three consecutive nights on a weekend in May. This made it ideal for a visitor since I could stay for four nights and take in three operas plus go to the symphony on my fourth night. I have now been to several of the main opera houses worldwide and thought the Oper Leipzig was truly outstanding, especially in terms of the performances and the acoustics in the building. I had not heard of any of the singers and they seem to have company singers that they use in their performances, but I thought almost all the voices I heard were outstanding and on a par with top international talent. The Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, which plays with the opera, of course if one of the top orchestras in the world, and their performance in the operas was really the high point. The staging for all three operas was excellent. I am usually in favor of more traditional stagings, and the Leipzig Oper did a few modern adaptations, but I didn't find that it distracted too much. The building itself is not ornate like the Semperoper in Dresden or the Wiener Staatsoper. However, I think the outstanding acoustics and the excellent sightlines and comfortable seats give you really all you need. One problem, though, is that it was fairly warm while I was there and they do not seem to have very good air conditioning in the building. It is interesting that they have very large portraits of their singers posted in the lobby areas, with each singer in two different poses. The selection of refreshments is very good and prices exceedingly reasonable. I got a glass of wine during intermission for just three euros. The prices of the opera tickets themselves are also exceedingly reasonable, with top seats in the front orchestra section ranging around 75 to 95 euros. I definitely recommend this opera house and look forward to visiting again for their innovative and excellent performances. read more

Last night, I watch the ballet of Othello (the last performance of the year before summer) I will not pretend I am an expert. In fact I am a British Army Medic. I had very little expectation before arriving to something I believe would be "boring".... (how fun can a ballet be right?).... The whole of the second act I was I tears. I felt so Involved. I do not have the penmanship of Shakespeare to explain to you how good this performance was. Whos every job it is to select the props should be given a medal. The head female dancer (probably has a title I don't know) as she was dieing let out short breaths as she danced that were somehow so powerful. Maybe every ballet is like this. I doubt it. However a day later, I'm sat in Starbucks and it's the only thing I can think about. Thank you so much... read more