La Calisto - Schedule, Program & Tickets

Dramma per musica in three acts and a prologue

Libretto by Nicola Badolato

The world lies devastated by a great fire. Jupiter, the supreme god, wants to supply the earth with water again, but spontaneously falls in love with the nymph Calisto, who has devoted herself to the chastity cult of the goddess Diana. Jupiter is not deterred by this, however, and in the guise of Diana he seduces Calisto, who then experiences rejection and anger instead of love when she meets the real Diana. Diana herself has fallen for the young Endimione, which the shepherd god Pan observes jealously. Jupiter's wife Juno finally puts an end to the hustle and bustle of desire and seduction and transforms her husband's guiltless lover into a wild bear. In Francesco Cavalli's opera La Calisto, gods, nymphs and mythical creatures collide. They are all under the spell of love and desire, power and violence and demonstrate human passions in a tragicomic way. First performed in Venice in 1651, the work questions both the moral concepts underlying the social order and the associated gender roles. Does Calisto's transformation into the constellation of the Great Bear at the end of the opera signify a break with the divine order or a subjugation? Together with lutenist and conductor Christina Pluhar, one of the leading interpreters of 17th century music, director Stefan Herheim will bring this early baroque opera to the stage as a cosmic magic theater.

In Italian with German and English surtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of each performance

Co-production with Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin

Subject to change without notice.