Upcoming shows by Lydia Steier
Lydia Steier directs Richard Strauss’s “Elektra” at the Zurich Opera and Hector Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” at the Vienna State Opera.
In November/December 2026, you’ll have the chance to catch two shows directed by Lydia Steier, Artistic Director of the Ruhrtriennale 2027-2029: Elektra premieres on 22 November 2026 at the Zurich Opera House, followed by the premiere of La Damnation de Faust on 17 December 2026 at the Vienna State Opera.
Elektra
Elektra (Richard Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal)
Tragedy in one act
Directed by Lydia Steier
22 November – 16 December 2026, Zurich Opera House
Elektra relentlessly summons the past—her trauma and her burning desire for revenge: her father Agamemnon, scarcely returned from the Trojan War, lies dead, murdered in the bath by her mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Richard Strauss composed music of searing force, profound and relentless, granting none of the characters redemption until Elektra’s ecstatic final dance.
Following her visually powerful Der Rosenkavalier at the Zurich Opera House, director Lydia Steier now turns to Strauss’s darker counterpart. At the podium is the Lausanne-born conductor and designated Zurich General Music Director Lorenzo Viotti. In the demanding title role, Finnish soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä makes her Zurich debut.
La Damnation de Faust
La Damnation de Faust (Hector Berlioz & Almire Gandonnière)
Légende-Dramatique in four acts
Directed by Lydia Steier
14 – 29 December 2026, Vienna State Opera
The outsider Faust loses the joy of life and wants to take his own life. Mephisto appears and promises him power, happiness and pleasure. As if in a feverish dream, Faust embarks with him on a quest for self-realization. In a world of soldiers, students and fantastic beings, a destructive relationship develops with Marguerite. In order to save her, Faust gives his soul to Mephisto and plunges into hell, while Marguerite finds redemption.
The concert premiere of La Damnation de Faust in Vienna took place almost 160 years to the day before the premiere date of this new production, on December 16, 1866, under the baton of the composer himself and with the participation of the Vienna Singverein. In Lydia Steier's new production, La Damnation de Faust receives its staged premiere at the Vienna State Opera.
Medusa
An iconic figure in Greek mythology, Medusa has inspired artists throughout the centuries. In this new score commissioned by La Monnaie, composer Iain Bell and director and librettist Lydia Steier explore the human dimension of this great myth. The recording of the opera, which premiered on 5 May 2026 at La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels, can be streamed on OperaVision until 15 November 2026.