Season Preview – Baden: Michael Lackner's final season brings a lot of new things

The premiere of “Kiss me Kate” with music by Cole Porter will take place on October 19 at the Stadttheater. Ramesh Nair has directed the film, and the cast includes famous names from Darius Merstein MacLeod to Tinie Cainrath. It continues on November 16 as part of the “Young Stage” series, showcasing “The Ghost of Canterville” in the musical version by Robert Berchet.

On December 14, the operetta “Victoria and Her Siege” by Paul Abraham, starring Christoph Wagner-Trinkwitz, Cornelia Horak, Klemens Kirschbamber and others, arrives in Baden. The new year brings another musical: Rodgers and Hammerstein's “South Pacific,” with Missy May and Mehrzade Montazeri, among others (starting January 25).

This time, as an opera project, Giacomo Puccini's “Tosca”, which has had great success in the musical theater repertoire, will be performed. The film is directed by Lackner himself and sung in the original Italian with Thomas Weinhabel and Natalia Ushakova (premiere: February 22). As of March 21, Sergei Prokofiev's ballet “Romeo and Juliet” can be seen in Baden for the first time.

The performances of the theater festival for the summer of 2025 are already programmed: “The Circus Princess” by Emmerich Kalmann, directed by Isabella Gregor, will reign on the summer scene from June 21. At the City Theatre, Lackner's successor, Andreas Jergen, presents the musical “Chess” written by Tim Rice and former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, including Drew Saric, Dorina Jaroczi and Gheorghej Mkazaria (starting July 12).

Finally, Lackner's era in Baden came to an end with Franz Lehár's “Guditta”. The current host is once again hosting the show himself, and the first show will be on August 3 at the Sommerarena. But the residents of Baden will not let their manager go so quickly: on September 13, 2025, there will be a big farewell party with a prominent participation.

The concert calendar is also prominently featured, including Ildico Raimondi and Francisco Araiza. Guest performances by the Lower Austria State Theater and several educational programs geared towards target groups complete the offerings for the 2024/25 season.