On January 9, 2025, Viennese director Otto Schenk passed away at the age of 94.

He left an indelible mark on the world of opera with his remarkable productions, which have been performed across the global opera stage. The Met Opera in New York fondly remembers his grand Wagner productions, just as the Wiener Staatsoper continues to preserve his legacy.

This season, in addition to the recordings made freely available on the Austrian opera’s website, audiences can experience his stagings of Fidelio by Beethoven in February 2025 (featuring Michael Spyres and Bryn Terfel), L’elisir d’amore by Donizetti in March (with Nadine Sierra and Xabier Anduaga), Andrea Chénier by Giordano in April (starring Michael Fabiano, Sonya Yoncheva, and Luca Salsi), and finally, arguably his greatest masterpiece, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in June (with Lise Davidsen, Emily D’Angelo, and Sabine Devieilhe). Another iconic production, J. Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus, has returned annually every December since 1979.

To see Otto Schenk’s productions at the Wierner Staatsoper, click here!

Der Rosenkavalier – c – Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Poehn