Orlando revisited: Olga Neuwirth's Woolf adaptation comes to Berlin

Ema Nikolovska (Orlando) and Karolina Gumos (Queen)

Orlando

By Elena Luporini, 18 May 2026

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“as soon as Neuwirth bypasses the novel's conclusion... Orlando loses its footing and languishes”

Reviewed at Schillertheater: Großer Saal, Berlin on 16 May 2026

Neuwirth, Orlando (German premiere)

Komische Oper Berlin

Johannes Kalitzke, Conductor

Ewa Marciniec, Director

Mirek Kaczmarek, Set Designer

Julia Kornacka, Costume Designer

Olaf Freese, Lighting Designer

Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin

Chorsolisten der Komischen Oper Berlin

Sophia Jira, Dramaturgy

Ema Nikolovska, Orlando

Eric Jurenas, Guardian Angel

Karolina Gumos, Queen, Purity, Friend of Orlando's child

Ulrike Helzel, Modesty

Anna Nekhames, Sasha, Chastity

Günter Papendell, Shelmerdine, Green

Ivan Turšić, Doctor 1

Tom Erik Lie, Doctor 2, Pope

Jens Larsen, Doctor 3, Duke

Grace Heldridge, Orlando's girlfriend

Andrew Harris, Dryden

Andrew Dickinson, Addison

Kevin(a) Taylor, Orlando's child

David Cavelius, Choirmaster / chorus director

Kinderchor der Komischen Oper Berlin

Dagmar Fiebach, Choirmaster / chorus director

Agnieszka Kryst, Choreography

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The Baroque confectionery of Herbert Fritsch's production of Handel's oratorio belies a serious core which is all too close to today's headlines.

****1

Barrie Kosky directs a ferocious new Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Zenaida des Aubris, 31st January

Shostakovich's opera is laid bare in Berlin, to devastating effect, with a distinguished cast led by Ambur Braid.

****1

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Salome is faceless and the Dance of the Seven Veils becomes a sardonic commentary on seduction in Komische Oper Berlin's austere new staging.

****1

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Barrie Kosky's new production of Philip Glass' Akhnaten for Komische Oper at the Schillertheater removes any egyptological references.

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Komische Oper Berlin's The Marriage of Figaro is staged at the Edinburgh International Festival with a strong cast headed by Penny Sofroniadou and Peter Kellner.

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More reviews...

Elena Luporini

After completing their Master's degree in Musicology in Rome, Elena has now moved to Berlin to dedicate themselves to more things musical. With a publication on Béla Bartók and a seminar at the Humboldt-Universität underway, their interests mostly veer toward 20th-century opera, with some forays into queer musicology. Some of their latest undertakings also include oboe lessons, stencil-making and tea-making.

Orlando revisited: Olga Neuwirth's Virginia Woolf adaptation comes to Berlin