OPERNWELT

Opernwelt , the monthly magazine for musical theatre, is considered Europe's leading specialist publication. Renowned authors review selected performances from the German and international scenes – competently, informatively, critically, and entertainingly. Interviews with artists and those involved on and off stage, cultural policy analyses, essays and discussions, reviews of the most important new releases on the media market, premiere previews, and news from the global music scene round out the multifaceted offering.

Every October, Opernwelt publishes its yearbook , featuring a survey of 50 opera critics from Europe and America across 15 different categories (singer, performance, direction, stage, venue, orchestra, etc.). Based on these votes, the "Opera House of the Year," "Performance of the Year," "Singer of the Year"—in short, the outstanding artists, ensembles, and productions of the season—are selected and presented. A digital edition is available as an e-paper and app.

The magazine was founded in 1960 by six opera enthusiasts who established the German Opera Publishing House for this purpose . The first editor-in-chief was Otto-Erich Schilling, formerly a music critic for the Stuttgarter Zeitung and later head of the opera department at Süddeutscher Rundfunk (South German Broadcasting).

Enthusiasm outweighed business acumen – and shortly thereafter the magazine was insolvent. In 1963, it was taken over by the publisher Erhard Friedrich; for him, Opernwelt wasthe perfect counterpart to the magazine Theater heute , which was also founded in 1960 .

The Erhard Friedrich publishing house acquired a number of renowned authors. Karl Heinz Ruppel and Joachim Kaiser reported from Munich, Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt and Klaus Geitel from Berlin, and Siegfried Melchinger and Kurt Honolka from Stuttgart. Johannes Jacobi, a critic for the newspaper Die Zeit, regularly analyzed the state of German musical theater in a journal . For the printed debates, prominent figures such as Walter Felsenstein and Rolf Liebermann were invited.

In 1964, Hans Otto Spingel, a prominent figure from the world , was hired as editor-in-chief. He steered the magazine through a turbulent period in which traditional musical theater was increasingly questioned. When Pierre Boulez called for opera houses to be blown up, it provoked a heated reaction. The topic was discussed in Opernwelt for several months among the leading artistic directors of the time.

In 1971, Spingel was succeeded by Imre Fabian, who served as editor-in-chief for 22 years. The Hungarian-born musicologist and author strengthened the journal's international profile and broadened its scope. Key developments during those years included the revival of Baroque opera, historically informed performance practice, and the operatic awakening in America and Scandinavia.

Other long-time editors of Opernwelt were Bernd Feuchtner, Stephan Mösch and Albrecht Thiemann; Jürgen Otten has been an editor since 2016.