Esther Mertel

Esther Mertel completed her vocal studies at the Detmold University of Music in 2009 and was subsequently engaged in the opera studio at the Landestheater Detmold. From 2011, she worked as a stage manager at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein for eleven years and completed further training in music and theater management at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich in 2012. At the Salzburg Festival in 2014, she was part of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's music education team and directed the opera camp for “Il trovatore”. In 2015, Esther Mertel founded the music theater festival Sommer Nacht Oper in der Westpfalz together with Philipp Westerbarkei. Since the 2015/16 season, Humperdinck's classic “Hansel and Gretel” has been performed at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in her newly staged version. In 2017 and 2019, she conceived and staged the second and fourth installments of the Opernbaukasten with Malte Arkona for the Junge Oper.
She was also involved in the Schumann Junior Institute at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf as coordinator and assistant to the Managing Director. From 2022-2024, Esther Mertel was Chief Scheduler at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, before returning to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 2024 as Scheduler and Head of the Artistic Operations Office.

www.esthermertel.de