Ersan Mondtag
Director Ersan Mondtag has one of the most distinctive theatrical visions of recent generations, which he brings to life through stunning set and costume designs. In recent years he has successfully transferred these artistic sensibilities to opera, breaking new ground in the possibilities of the form and earning critical acclaim.
Mondtag won awards in all three creative areas by the age of 30. Theater Heute’s named him Young Director of the Year in 2016 and Costume Designer of the Year the following year, when Deutsche Bühne also selected him as Set Designer of the Year. In 2025 he was awarded theprestigious Berliner Zeitung Culture Award.
Mondtag has been invited to the influential Berlin Theatertreffen festival four times. In 2025, his production of Sam Max’s Double Serpent was selected to be performed there, following its world premiere at Staatstheater Wiesbaden in 2024. Before that, he was invited to bring Das Internat, which won the festival’s 3sat-Award (2019); Die Vernichtung, with regular collaborator Olga Bach
(2017); and Tyrannis (2016).
Mondtag made his opera debut in 2020 with Schreker’s Der Schmied von Gent for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp and Ghent, a co-production with Nationaltheater Mannheim. The following season he returned to Opera Vlaanderen to direct Der Silbersee, co-produced with Opéra national de Lorraine. His production of Langgaard’s Antikrist opened at Deutsche Oper Berlin and was recently released on DVD. Other highlights include his Wiener Staatsoper debut with Les pêcheurs de perles, Ariadne auf Naxos at Salzburger Festepiele, La forza del destino at Opéra de Lyon, Gianni Schicchi and L’heure espagnole at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Salome at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Toto oder Vielen Dank für das Leben at Burgtheater, and Munich Machine at Residenztheater.
Mondtag recently designed the German Pavilion for La Biennale d’Arte di Venezia: an ‘unclassifiable piece that can be read as a wretched, furious monument (New Yorker); and the ‘most out-there national pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale’ (ART News). This work was recently developed into a new exhibition called ASBEST at König Gallery.
Engagements in Bayreuth
| Year | Opera | Part |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Parsifal | Director |
