General Director Prof. Christoph Meyer resigns from office early for health reasons on 30 March 2025
© Susanne Diesner
After more than 15 successful seasons as General Director of Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Prof. Christoph Meyer will step down from his position prematurely on 30 March 2025 for health reasons. "I have decided to take this step after much careful consideration and with a heavy heart," said Prof Christoph Meyer. "However, after medical consultation, my health unfortunately does not allow me to continue to lead Deutsche Oper am Rhein with the necessary energy, strength and responsibility that this job requires every day. I am very proud of the team we have put together and developed over the past few years, our ensembles, the people responsible in all workshops, on the stages and in all areas, and I know that Deutsche Oper am Rhein is in good hands."
"Prof Christoph Meyer has made outstanding contributions to opera, ballet and young opera in both Düsseldorf and Duisburg over the past 15 years," said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Duisburg's Lord Mayor Sören Link. "With its diverse, ambitious programme and high artistic quality, it has made a significant contribution to anchoring the opera in the urban societies of both Duisburg and Düsseldorf, so that the opera marriage, which is unique in Germany, has long since become an integral part of the cultural offerings of both cities."
Düsseldorf's Lord Mayor Dr Stephan Keller: "The programmatic claim to inspire as many people as possible for opera and ballet through high artistic quality and a wide range of offerings has decisively shaped the 'Meyer era' at the Deutsche Oper since 2009. We are deeply indebted to Prof Meyer for his services to opera and ballet on the Rhine and very much regret that he is unable to work for Deutsche Oper am Rhein until 2027 as planned due to ill health. We sincerely wish him all the best."
Prof. Christoph Meyer, born in Lüneburg in 1960, studied theatre and musicology in Munich and, after working in Mannheim, Cologne, Barcelona, Berlin, Basel and Leipzig, joined the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as General Director in 2009. During his tenure, Meyer has presented audiences with a diverse selection of internationally renowned directors, bringing directors such as Lotte de Beer, David Bösch, Johannes Erath, Tatjana Gürbaca, Claus Guth, Andreas Homoki, Stefan Herheim, Dietrich W. Hilsdorf, Immo Karaman, Barrie Kosky, Elisabeth Stöppler and Michael Thalheimer to Düsseldorf and Duisburg.
He enjoyed a particularly close artistic collaboration with conductor Axel Kober, who served as General Music Director at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 2009 to 2024. During this time, numerous singers from the opera house's large, traditional ensemble embarked on glittering international careers, such as Maria Kataeva and Adela Zaharia, Bogdan Baciu and Bogdan Taloş, and many more. He succeeded in recruiting Vitali Alekseenok as Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein for the 2024/25 season. In addition to cultivating the ensemble, the promotion of young musical talent was particularly important to him. He turned the opera studio of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein into an important talent factory with an international reputation. In December 2014, Christoph Meyer was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, for his special commitment to promoting young singers. He has been an honorary professor at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf since 2011.
In total, over 100 new productions were created during Prof Christoph Meyer's directorship, including great classics of opera literature as well as baroque opera rarities, important modern works and commissions from contemporary composers such as Jörg Widmann, Anno Schreier and Manfred Trojahn. Outstanding artistic projects of this era include the Rameau and Britten cycles from 2009 to 2014 and the "Ring am Rhein" (2017-2019). Only Grischa Barfuss (1964 - 1986) was General Director at the Doppelinstitut longer than him.
Christoph Meyer opened his directorship over 15 years ago with the slogan "Opera on the Rhine for everyone": an important guiding principle of his artistic work was to open up opera and ballet to as many people as possible, especially young audiences. In this way, he created the framework for the continuous expansion of the "Junge Oper am Rhein" and, most recently, the mobile venue "UFO - Junge Oper Urban". As the initiator of the NRW-wide network "Junge Opern Rhein-Ruhr", he was committed to expanding the repertoire of children's and family operas by commissioning numerous new compositions and productions. The Ballett am Rhein advanced to become one of the most important companies on the international dance scene during his general directorship under the direction of Martin Schläpfer (2009/10 - 2018/19), Demis Volpi (2019/20 - 2023/24) and currently Bridget Breiner and Raphaël Coumes-Marquet (since 2024/25).
At its next meeting in February 2025, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Oper am Rhein will decide on an interim successor for the artistic direction from April 2025 until probably July 2027. The regular procedure for appointing a new artistic director for the 2027/28 season at the latest has already begun.
"Prof Christoph Meyer has made outstanding contributions to opera, ballet and young opera in both Düsseldorf and Duisburg over the past 15 years," said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Duisburg's Lord Mayor Sören Link. "With its diverse, ambitious programme and high artistic quality, it has made a significant contribution to anchoring the opera in the urban societies of both Duisburg and Düsseldorf, so that the opera marriage, which is unique in Germany, has long since become an integral part of the cultural offerings of both cities."
Düsseldorf's Lord Mayor Dr Stephan Keller: "The programmatic claim to inspire as many people as possible for opera and ballet through high artistic quality and a wide range of offerings has decisively shaped the 'Meyer era' at the Deutsche Oper since 2009. We are deeply indebted to Prof Meyer for his services to opera and ballet on the Rhine and very much regret that he is unable to work for Deutsche Oper am Rhein until 2027 as planned due to ill health. We sincerely wish him all the best."
Prof. Christoph Meyer, born in Lüneburg in 1960, studied theatre and musicology in Munich and, after working in Mannheim, Cologne, Barcelona, Berlin, Basel and Leipzig, joined the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as General Director in 2009. During his tenure, Meyer has presented audiences with a diverse selection of internationally renowned directors, bringing directors such as Lotte de Beer, David Bösch, Johannes Erath, Tatjana Gürbaca, Claus Guth, Andreas Homoki, Stefan Herheim, Dietrich W. Hilsdorf, Immo Karaman, Barrie Kosky, Elisabeth Stöppler and Michael Thalheimer to Düsseldorf and Duisburg.
He enjoyed a particularly close artistic collaboration with conductor Axel Kober, who served as General Music Director at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 2009 to 2024. During this time, numerous singers from the opera house's large, traditional ensemble embarked on glittering international careers, such as Maria Kataeva and Adela Zaharia, Bogdan Baciu and Bogdan Taloş, and many more. He succeeded in recruiting Vitali Alekseenok as Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein for the 2024/25 season. In addition to cultivating the ensemble, the promotion of young musical talent was particularly important to him. He turned the opera studio of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein into an important talent factory with an international reputation. In December 2014, Christoph Meyer was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, for his special commitment to promoting young singers. He has been an honorary professor at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf since 2011.
In total, over 100 new productions were created during Prof Christoph Meyer's directorship, including great classics of opera literature as well as baroque opera rarities, important modern works and commissions from contemporary composers such as Jörg Widmann, Anno Schreier and Manfred Trojahn. Outstanding artistic projects of this era include the Rameau and Britten cycles from 2009 to 2014 and the "Ring am Rhein" (2017-2019). Only Grischa Barfuss (1964 - 1986) was General Director at the Doppelinstitut longer than him.
Christoph Meyer opened his directorship over 15 years ago with the slogan "Opera on the Rhine for everyone": an important guiding principle of his artistic work was to open up opera and ballet to as many people as possible, especially young audiences. In this way, he created the framework for the continuous expansion of the "Junge Oper am Rhein" and, most recently, the mobile venue "UFO - Junge Oper Urban". As the initiator of the NRW-wide network "Junge Opern Rhein-Ruhr", he was committed to expanding the repertoire of children's and family operas by commissioning numerous new compositions and productions. The Ballett am Rhein advanced to become one of the most important companies on the international dance scene during his general directorship under the direction of Martin Schläpfer (2009/10 - 2018/19), Demis Volpi (2019/20 - 2023/24) and currently Bridget Breiner and Raphaël Coumes-Marquet (since 2024/25).
At its next meeting in February 2025, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Oper am Rhein will decide on an interim successor for the artistic direction from April 2025 until probably July 2027. The regular procedure for appointing a new artistic director for the 2027/28 season at the latest has already begun.