St. Matthew Passion

This oratorio tells of the last days in the life of Jesus Christ. Exactly three hundred years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach set the Gospel text in sound: The premiere took place on Good Friday 1727. Benedikt von Peter's production takes the tradition of the Way of the Cross entrenched in it seriously: Bach's double-choir masterpiece unfolds as a room acoustic crucifix; the audience sits in the middle of the musical process, exposing their own body to this passion and its disturbing beauty. Betrayal, fear of death, sacrifice and forgiveness do not appear as a distant act of salvation, but as a sober question to our present: What are the sins for which the son must be sacrificed year after year? It is not the evangelist but children who present the parable. They shoulder the cross, prevent Judas from committing suicide with a hug and discuss the values of a Christian society. Marc Minkowski, a renowned specialist in Baroque vocal music and a guest at the Deutsche Oper for the first time, is conducting this special revival exactly on the 300th anniversary of the work!

Oratorio in two parts by Johann Sebastian Bach Libretto by Picaneder based on the Gospel of Matthew from the Luther Bible Premiered presumably on Good Friday, April 11, 1727 in Leipzig Premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on May 5, 2023