Schall & Rausch — Festival for Brand-New Music Theatre
Four days of music theatre between pop, high culture, Berlin club scene, and African rites of passage
About Schall & Rausch
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When the Komische Oper Plays Neukölln
Schall & Rausch is an unusual festival: two of Berlin's most important music theatre houses — the established Komische Oper Berlin in Mitte and the experimental Neuköllner Oper — are joining forces for a format that explicitly takes place not in an opera house, but in venues of the Neukölln club scene and industrial culture: Vollgutlager (former Kindl brewery), SchwuZ Queer Club, and Neuköllner Oper. The 2026 season bears the subtitle Limited Edition — an indication of the festival's particularly focused content.
What's On in 2026
The focus is on two productions: the world premiere of Selemo in collaboration with Johannesburg's Centre for the Less Good Idea, featuring South African singer Alma Sadé and contributions from Shozi and Mahlangu — a work that critics hailed in 2025 as a «form of decolonial cultural mediation» and «total theatre». Alongside this is Cave meets Schubert, a conceptual work by Joseph Gaffigan that merges Nick Cave songs with Schubert lieder. Crossover evenings will combine Turkish pop with Baroque opera, and Yiddish translations of Gershwin, Weill, Dylan, and Winehouse pieces will fill other sets.
Komische Oper, Neuköllner Oper, and the Berlin of Multiplicity
The Komische Oper Berlin is one of the city's three major opera houses and is internationally recognized as a progressive stage — it regularly produces works beyond the classical repertoire. The Neuköllner Oper is a significantly smaller, experimental venue in the Neukölln district, known for its accessible contemporary music theatre productions. Schall & Rausch makes this dual structure visible — and shows how the diverse Berlin, with its migrant communities, queer nightlife, and classical educated elite, can invent music theatre together.
Schall & Rausch — edition 2026
Four days of festival programming featuring world premieres, crossover concerts, and performances that blend pop, high culture, the Berlin club scene, and African rites of passage. Jointly organized by Komische Oper Berlin and Neuköllner Oper.
Programme Schall & Rausch 2026
The Schall & Rausch 2026 festival — Limited Edition runs from February 12 to 15, 2026, at three venues in Berlin-Neukölln. Organizers: Komische Oper Berlin and Neuköllner Oper. Artistic Director: Benedikt Simonischek.
Venues
- Neuköllner Oper, Karl-Marx-Straße 131-133, 12043 Berlin
- Vollgutlager on the Kindl brewery site, Am Sudhaus 3
- SchwuZ Queer Club, Rollbergstraße 26, 12053 Berlin
Main Productions 2026
- World Premiere Selemo — in collaboration with the Centre for the Less Good Idea from Johannesburg. Featuring South African singer Alma Sadé and contributions from performers Shozi and Mahlangu. A form of «decolonial cultural mediation» and «total theatre» through the energy of South African performers.
- Cave meets Schubert — Conceptual work by Joseph Gaffigan, merging Nick Cave songs with Schubert lieder
Programmatic Ambition
According to the artistic director, the festival explores «exciting symbioses of pop and high culture, spirituality and artificiality, the Berlin club scene and African rites of passage». The program celebrates spring as a «intoxicating fantasy of opulence and the triumph of the new over the old».
Further Crossover Sets
- Turkish pop meets Baroque opera
- Yiddish translations of compositions by Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Bob Dylan, and Amy Winehouse
Critical Reception (2025)
The 2025 iteration of the festival was hailed by the trade press as a successful crossover between avant-garde music theatre and club culture audiences — a conceptual foundation that will be further developed in 2026.
Highlights Schall & Rausch 2026
- World premiere «Selemo» with Alma Sadé and South African performers
- «Cave meets Schubert» by Joseph Gaffigan
- Three venues between Neuköllner Oper, Vollgutlager, and SchwuZ
- Turkish pop meets Baroque opera
- Yiddish translations of Gershwin, Weill, Dylan, and Winehouse
- Artistic direction Benedikt Simonischek
Prices Schall & Rausch 2026
Ticket prices €18–€30 per event — cheaper than a regular opera house visit. Tickets via komische-oper-berlin.de, neukoellneroper.de, and at the box offices. Concessions for students and severely disabled persons. Travel via U7 Karl-Marx-Straße or Rathaus Neukölln.
Practical information — Schall & Rausch
Getting to the Venues
Neuköllner Oper — Karl-Marx-Straße 131-133, 12043 Berlin (U7 Karl-Marx-Straße). Vollgutlager — on the former Kindl brewery site, Am Sudhaus 3, Berlin-Neukölln (U7 Rathaus Neukölln + walk). SchwuZ Queer Club — Rollbergstraße 26, 12053 Berlin (U7 Rathaus Neukölln).
Tickets
Tickets €18–€30 per event via komische-oper-berlin.de, neukoellneroper.de, and at the box offices. Concessions available for students and severely disabled persons.
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Travel to this festival
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Where it takes place Schall & Rausch
Neuköllner Oper / Vollgutlager / SchwuZ
Neuköllner Oper, Karl-Marx-Straße 131-133, 12043 Berlin