From 23. May 2026

Die Reise zu Planet 9

Pierangelo Valtinoni

Opera in four acts

Libretto by Paolo Madron, based on a text by Paula Fünfeck; German performing version by Paula Fünfeck

- Sung in German with German and English surtitles -

New production | A collaboration between Theater Bonn, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg, Theater Dortmund, and Theater und Philharmonie Essen GmbH as part of the series Junge Opern Rhein–Ruhr

Music director: NN | Stage director: Cordula Däuper

8+ approx. 1 hour 30 minutes, no break
Premiere 23.05.
Dates & Tickets

King Krax is tired of ruling the land of Abholzhausen. There are too many crises to deal with: climate change, pandemics, inflation, wars. His cunning chief inventor, Megapfiffikuss, has persuaded the king that he can escape his worries by travelling into space. Lunatick, the king’s daughter, is supposed to take care of all the problems. However, she has no intention of taking on her father’s thankless tasks and instead flies off into space with him. Their destination is the mysterious Planet 9, which, to everyone’s surprise, is already inhabited by Ninurians. Communication between earthlings and aliens proves to be a real problem. It doesn’t help that Megapfiffikuss is also pursuing his own plans for power. The greatest treasure in the entire universe is said to be hidden on Planet 9, and Megapfiffikuss wants to win it for himself at all costs …

DIE REISE ZUM PLANET 9 is a family opera that deals with the important issues of our time: the barriers to communication with foreign cultures, reckless human activity that damages the environment, and the need to put what we want aside and instead to act with or for the benefit of others. Based on Jacques Offenbach’s Journey to the moon, librettist Paolo Madron and renowned composer Pierangelo Valtinoni have created an opera that is as whimsical as it is imaginative.

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Cast

Prinzessin Lunatick  Marie Heeschen
König Krax  Christopher Jähnig
Megapfiffikuss  Tae Hwan Yun
Ikuma  NN
Quyokuma / Fantastikuss  Santiago Sánchez
Oropax (Papagei)  Carl Rumstadt
Musikalische Leitung  Daniel Johannes Mayr
Regieassistenz und Abendspielleitung  Elisabeth Manduell
Inspizienz  Karsten Sandleben
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