140 min. 

For the first time, ORF III is showing a live broadcast from the Vienna Volksoper, which will celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2018. Peter Lund, among other things known for his award-winning "Axel an der Himmelstür", which was also performed at the Vienna Volksoper, will stage the operetta "Die Csárdásfürstin" by Emmerich Kálmán.

187 min. 

Experience the touching love story between Lisa, a girl from Vienna, and the Chinese prince Sou-Chong who are governed by different cultures and social conventions. "The Land of Smiles" is perhaps the most impassioned of all the operettas and never fails to touch the hearts of every member of the audience. The romantic operetta is performed on the world's largest operetta stage against the breathtaking backdrop of Lake Neusiedl.

125 min. 

Zorika's engagement to the charming but very reputable Jonel is imminent. But she’s much more attracted to the seductive, spirited gypsy violinist Jószi, with whom she would love to abscond. At a loss as to how she should decide, Zorika remembers the old folk belief that a girl who drinks water from the River Cerna on the night of the engagement will be able to foresee the future. She drinks from the waters and dreams of the life she can expect if she chooses Jószi. When she wakes up again, she is glad it was only a dream. She recognises her true feelings and knows where she belongs: with Jonel.

144 min.

A freedom fighter in disguise, his uncle with a dubious Bluebeard complex who is already planning his sixth wedding, to an even younger woman of course, a highly creative and strong minded neighbour, known as “wildcat” and just as feared, and guests ready to party all come together in this bold and witty operetta of trials and tribulations by Joseph Beer, to celebrate the wedding of the year, maybe even of the century. Joseph Beer’s music moves between operetta and musical, between jazz, klezmer and waltz – high drama combined with touching romance. Sebastian Ritschel’s production of this firework of an operetta is bringing its sparks to the Graz Opera for the first time.

120 min.

When Johann Sebastian Bach visited margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg in the Berlin Palace, all the ancient deities that shone down at him from the painted ceilings were the ones that were behind his secret scheme for the Brandenburg Concertos. The idea that in this cycle Bach might have been glorifying the virtues of Baroque princes under the guise of mythology is not new, but it remains utterly charming. Diana’s hunting horn, Pan's pipes, Apollo’s violin and the nine muses with their stringed instruments are among the obvious allusions. Stefan Gottfried unearths classical symbolism amongst these treasures as he reinterprets the Brandenburgs with the glorious sound of the Concentus Musicus. 

134 min.

The hunting horn resounds through the Helmut List Halle when Diana and her nymphs lie in ambush. Cupid has fired his arrows of love at Apollo, who now desires the nymph Daphne. To escape his advances, she lets herself be turned into a laurel tree (Lauro) – a magical moment of deep sadness in Fux’s otherwise light-hearted baroque opera about love. Alfredo Bernardini and his ensemble Zefiro present a cascade of original sounds brimming with Italianità. A true “primo uomo” joins the exquisite ensemble of singers of the 2018 opera celebration: countertenor Raffaele Pé. The young singer from Lodi has a striking presence and he sings exquisitely – the audience is sure to be enchanted!

140 min.

Hoffmann, poet and epitome of the hapless genius, awaits Stella, the prima donna and his latest sweetheart. Seduced by his muse into a fantasy world, he experiences a true bacchanalia between reality and dream, carried by sensually beguiling sounds: Olympia, the charming, fragile doll, the tender Antonia, who dies from her art and Giulietta, the beautiful, refined courtesan and thief of men's souls.

Offenbach's only opera, a jewel of German melancholy and French esprit, became a world hit.

52 min.

Exclusive bows are still made by hand. Bow makers have been using Brazilian Pernambuco wood for their bows for over two hundred years. But stocks are running low, and the precious wood is now a protected species. But what makes Pernambuco so unique, and why is a good bow so important for the perfect sound of a string instrument? Peppo Wagner offers insights into the art of bow making and speaks with well-known musicians about the advantages of bows made from Pernambuco.