The big news for the upcoming season is that total German opera performances are currently projected to be down to 4,300 from over 6,000 pre pandemic. While this number may rise as theaters complete their planning I have heard that some theaters are indeed cutting back. Nevertheless this is still far ahead of the rest of the world and the outlines are clear.
As ever, Mozart, along with Puccini Verdi, Bizet and Rossini/Donizetti dominate the top 10. The two fairy tales, Die Zauberflöte and Hänsel und Gretel, are always #1 and #2. Mozart year round, and Humberdinck with morning and evening shows around Christmas for the whole family. This season the fairy tales are followed by Bohéme, Nozze,, Carmen, Giovanni, Traviata, Tosca, Onegin, Elisir’ and Barbiere.
The second 10 hosts two Mozarts: Entführung and the third Da Ponte Cosí, as well as a second Rossini, La Cenerentola, often called by it’s German name, Aschenputtel. The heavy German repertoire, which has a very loyal but more limited following, is well represented. There are two Richard Strauss operas, the popular Salome and the powerful Elektra while Richard Wagner has four of his operas in the top 20 this year, Walküre, Holländer, Tristan and Tannhäuser. Interestingly Weber’s ur-German Romantic opera Der Freischütz and Beethoven’s Fidelio, which so frequently appeared in past years are nowhere to be seen. Audiences must need a few extra laughs..
You can check out these and many other statistics at
https://www.operabase.com/statistics/en