Caligari in Bamberg: Ulrich Kreppein Opens the View on the New Opera

An Evening Between Shadows, Sound, and Opera Indulgence

On September 16, 2026, a window opens into a disturbingly beautiful world of music theater at the International Artist House Villa Concordia in Bamberg: Composer Ulrich Kreppein talks about the creation of his new opera Caligari, which premieres on September 19, 2026, at GLOBE Coburg. Admission is free, and the invitation is extended to everyone interested in contemporary opera, dramaturgy, and expressionistic stage art. ([bamberg.info](https://www.bamberg.info/veranstaltungen/vortrag_zur_opernpremiere_cali-860899-12704305/))

When a Silent Film Becomes a Multiperspective Music Theater

Caligari connects to one of the great myths of expressionist cinema: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene, whose duality between reality and delusion continues to fascinate to this day. The film is considered a fever dream of skewed sets, psychological tension, and a framing narrative that keeps the audience in suspense until the very end. This very unease, this vibrating ambivalence, forms the resonance space for Kreppein's opera project. ([filmstarts.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/2186/kritik.html))

Kreppein himself brings ample compositional authority to the table: Born in 1979, he studied in Düsseldorf, New York, and Harvard, and has received awards in the national competition Jugend komponiert and the Andreas Werckmeister Prize from the city of Halberstadt, among others. The workshop of such a composer promises not just a mere retelling, but a precisely crafted stage experience with musical tension, sharp contours, and fine dramaturgy. ([evs-musikstiftung.ch](https://evs-musikstiftung.ch/composer-prize/ulrich-alexander-kreppein/ulrich-alexander-kreppein-biografie/?utm_source=openai))

Tradition of Horror with Contemporary Power

The announcement itself refers to a music theater for singers, actors, dancers, choir, and large orchestra. Even this casting signals grandeur: a multi-voiced sound theater that creates space for physical presence, scenic densification, and atmospheric intensification. Those interested in staging, set design, and the expressive power of music theater will find an early glimpse behind the scenes of an upcoming premiere. ([bamberg.info](https://www.bamberg.info/veranstaltungen/vortrag_zur_opernpremiere_cali-860899-12704305/))

A Place with History: the Artist House Villa Concordia

The International Artist House Villa Concordia, located at Concordiastraße 28 in Bamberg, provides the setting for this lecture evening. The house explicitly points to its baroque structure and barriers such as stairs; at the same time, admission to events of this kind is free. For travel, the house recommends the Geyerswörth underground parking garage, as there are no parking options in front of the villa. ([villa-concordia.de](https://www.villa-concordia.de/kontakt/?utm_source=openai))

Thus, the pre-reporting becomes more than just an appointment: a cultural journalistic taste of an opera that plays with shadows, hypnosis, and social unrest. Anyone who wants to experience the creation of Caligari firsthand should not miss this evening. The operatic fantasy begins here, in Bamberg, long before the first curtain in Coburg. ([bamberg.info](https://www.bamberg.info/veranstaltungen/vortrag_zur_opernpremiere_cali-860899-12704305/))

Official Channels of Ulrich Kreppein:

• Instagram: no official profile found
• Facebook: no official profile found
• YouTube: no official profile found
• Website: https://www.ulrich-kreppein.de/

Sources:

• Bamberg Tourism - Lecture on the Opera Premiere Caligari by Composer Ulrich Kreppein
• International Artist House Villa Concordia - Contact
• International Artist House Villa Concordia - Directions
• International Artist House Villa Concordia - Event page with admission and barrier notice
• FILMSTARTS - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Review
• Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation - Ulrich Alexander Kreppein Biography
• BVD Ticket - Caligari Premiere