When does The Metamorphosis take place?

The performance begins on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 7:30 PM.

Where will The Metamorphosis be performed?

The opera will be performed at the Augsburg State Theater in the martini-Park, Provinostraße 52, 86153 Augsburg.

How long does the performance last?

The performance lasts about two hours and takes place without an intermission.

In which language is it performed?

The opera will be performed in German with German surtitles.

How much does a ticket cost?

A ticket costs 22 euros according to published event information.

Is there an introduction?

An introduction begins 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

Kafka's Metamorphosis as an Opera: An Intense Evening Full of Sound, Body, and Humanity

Name: The Metamorphosis
Start: 2026-11-20T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-20T21:30:00+01:00
Location: Staatstheater Augsburg | martini-Park

Kafka's Nightmare Becomes an Intense Music Theater

When Gregor Samsa awakens one morning as a bug, not only does his body fall out of order. At the martini-Park, the Augsburg State Theater transforms Franz Kafka's world-famous story into a contemporary opera by Gordon Kampe and Philipp Löhle. The performance combines literary weight, modern composition, and a suffocating theatrical atmosphere into a stage experience about alienation, isolation, and familial dependence.

A Shift in Perspective with Dramatic Precision

Director André Bücker's production not only puts Gregor's fate at the center. Philipp Löhle's libretto examines the metamorphosis from the perspectives of father, mother, sister, and maid. The provider of the family becomes a foreign roommate, and the familiar home turns into a space of growing silence. The dramaturgy shows how quickly care turns into overwhelm and closeness into exclusion.

Between Grotesque Comedy and Melancholic Sound

Gordon Kampe's music theater moves between different genres and stylistic devices. Catchy, fast-paced passages meet disturbing sound colors; grotesque moments cast melancholic shadows. A quirky-sounding bug quartet forms the musical highlight and gives Gregor's metamorphosis a peculiar, simultaneously comical and eerie presence.

Set Design, Light, and Body Contribute

Felix Weinold's set design, Aleksandra Kica's costumes, and Marco Vitale's lighting create a world where the bourgeois facade slowly dissolves. Helena Sturm's choreography adds a physical dimension to the acting, making the transformation sensually tangible. Together with the Augsburg Philharmonic, a precisely crafted connection of opera, drama, and choreographic theater emerges.

An Evening About Humanity and Exclusion

Kafka's view of alienation and the loss of human belonging continues to resonate with the present. The Augsburg production translates this material into a modern musical language and poses the question of how a society deals with those who no longer function. The result promises a concentrated stage experience with powerful images, sharp dramaturgy, and a lasting audience response.

Conclusion: Theater that Echoes Long

Visitors can expect a roughly two-hour opera without intermission, performed in German with German surtitles. The Metamorphosis combines Kafka readings, contemporary music theater, and intense acting into an evening full of grotesque tension and human abysses. Those who want to experience the power of modern stage art live will find a striking theater event at the martini-Park.