A native of Hamburg, director Christian Räth’s work takes him to many of the world’s leading opera houses. He directs a large and varied repertoire, ranging from Wagner, Strauss, Janáček, Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, Mozart, Britten and Bartók to musicals and contemporary creations.
Recent work includes Strauss Die Schweigzame Frau and Korngold Das Wunder der Heliane at Bard Summerscape, Der Freischütz and Macbeth at the Wiener Staatsoper, Le Baron Tzigane at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, L’Italiana in Algeri in Portland, and the direction and design of Kiss Me Kate for the Haut école de musique de Genève, in collaboration with the Théâtre du Galpon. Plans include the world premiere of Woman with Eyes Closed by Jennifer Higdon at Opera Philadelphia, a return to Bard Summerscape with Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète and the world premiere of a new Hosokawa opera for NNTT Tokyo.
Other opera stagings include Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and the direction and design of Tristan und Isolde for The Dallas Opera, Verdi’s Un Giorno di Regno (King for a Day) for the Glimmerglass Festival, Falstaff at Washington National Opera, Roméo et Juliette at Houston Grand Opera, Fidelio and Luisa Miller at The Dallas Opera, Die Zauberflöte at Cairo Opera House and Carmen at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
In 2021 Christian conceived and directed two unique historical events in Egypt – “The Pharaoh’s Golden Parade” – celebrating the journey of 22 royal mummies through the city of Cairo, and the opening ceremony of the antique “Sphinx Road” at Luxor.