Tatjana Gürbaca

Tatjana Gürbaca (born 1973) is a German opera director of Turkish (on her father's side) and Italian/Slovenian (on her mother's side) descent. Based at the Staatstheater Mainz from 2011 to 2014, she directed operas internationally, including contemporary operas and world premieres. She studied further in master courses by Ruth Berghaus and Peter Konwitschny, among others. Her production of Wagner's Parsifal at the Vlaamse Opera received the International Opera Award in the category "Best opera production" in 2014. She staged productions at Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Volksoper, Oper Graz, Oper Leipzig, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Theater Bremen, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Novosibirsk Opera, Lucerne Festival, among others.

In 2024 Gürbaca directed Halévy's La Juive at the Oper Frankfurt, set in medieval times but she exposed antisemitism as actuality. The choir, prepared by Tilman Michael, played a decisive role as both Jewish congregation and Christian crowd in dynamic movement.

Works Source:

2001, Puccini: Turandot, Graz Opera 2001, Haydn: La canterina and Lo speziale, , Eisenstadt 2002, Patrick Boltshauser: Brot und Spiele, 2002, Stravinsky: Mavra, Berlin State Opera 2003, Pergolesi: Il prigioniero, Wiener Volksoper 2003, Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden 2004, Leoncavallo: Pagliacci and Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana, Theater Regensburg 2005, Mozart: Così fan tutte, 2006, Menotti: The Old Maid and the Thief, Graz Opera 2006, Offenbach: Les contes d'Hoffmann, Graz Opera 2006, Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa, Bern Theatre 2006, Kraus: Soliman II and Mozart: Zaide, Theater Luzern 2006, Hersant: Der schwarze Mönch (world premiere), Oper Leipzig 2007, Verdi: Rigoletto, Graz Opera 2007, Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Novosibirsk Opera 2007, Così fan tutte, Prinzregententheater, Munich 2007, Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, Staatstheater Mainz 2007, Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre, Theater Bremen, with Sara Hershkowitz 2008, Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Theater Augsburg 2008, Massenet: Werther, Staatstheater Mainz 2008, Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer, Deutsche Oper Berlin 2008, Massenet: Manon, Staatstheater Mainz 2009, Mazeppa, Vlaamse Opera, Antwerpen 2009, Bizet: Carmen, Oper Leipzig 2009, R. Strauss: Salome, Deutsche Oper am Rhein 2010, Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin, Vlaamse Opera 2011, Sciarrino: Macbeth, Staatstheater Mainz 2012, Verdi: Un ballo in maschera, Staatstheater Mainz 2013, Wagner: Parsifal, Vlaamse Opera 2013, Verdi: Macbeth, Staatstheater Mainz 2014, Verdi: Aida, Opernhaus Zürich 2015, Verdi: La traviata, Den Norske Opera Oslo 2016, Braunfels: Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna, Cologne Opera 2016, Der fliegende Holländer, Vlaamse Opera 2016, Wagner: Lohengrin, Aalto Theatre Essen 2018, Weber: Der Freischütz, Aalto Theatre 2020, Korngold: Die tote Stadt, Cologne Opera 2022, Dallapiccola: Ulisse, Oper Frankfurt 2024, Louise Bertin: Fausto, Aalto Theatre 2024, Halévy: La Juive, Oper Frankfurt

Awards , 2000