Two FAUST Prize nominations

for Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Deutsche Oper and Ballett am Rhein have been nominated twice for the prestigious German Theater Award DER FAUST: director David Bösch was nominated in the musical theater directing category for his production of Alexander Zemlinsky's opera “The Chalk Circle”, which premiered in December 2024 to enthusiastic audiences at the Düsseldorf Opera House. The second nomination went to dancer Long Zou for his captivating performance in Mthuthuzeli November's world premiere “Invocation”. As part of the ballet program “Kaleidoskop”, the piece has been receiving great acclaim in Duisburg and Düsseldorf since March. More than 60 artists and collectives have been nominated for the German Theater Award DER FAUST this year. The winners will be honored at a grand gala on 15 November 2025 at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

The strongly autobiographical creation “Invocation” by South African choreographer Mthuthuzeli November is inspired by the sounds and rhythms of his homeland. November's dance language fuses African roots with neoclassical ballet, opening up completely new forms of expression. One of the two main roles in “Invocation” is embodied by Chinese dancer Long Zou, whose authenticity was recognized by the FAUST Prize jury as essential to the effect of the choreography. Long Zou is regarded as an extremely versatile dancer who not only builds bridges between different cultures, but also has an enormous range of dance techniques at his disposal. “ Kaleidoskop” will return to the stages of both cities for further performances from January 2026.

David Bösch's production of “”Der Kreidekreis“ was a gripping mixture of poetic realism and socio-critical ”crime drama". Zemlinsky's stage work is a complex hybrid of drama and opera with musical stylistic elements of late romanticism, early modernism and echoes of Kurt Weill's song style and jazz. The FAUST Prize jury was impressed by David Bösch's directorial work because he and his team (set design/video: Patrick Bannwart, costumes: Falko Herold) succeeded in resolving the contradictions of the work with reduced, effective scenic means and translating the plot, which is based on violence, oppression and corruption, into poetic realism. The female protagonist's tale of woe, told as a fairytale parable, is visualized in a psychologically plausible way. The nominations for the FAUST Theater Prize alone are regarded as great recognition for outstanding artistic achievements. The presentation of the coveted trophies on November 15, 2025 at the Theater Stuttgart is now eagerly awaited.