Die Königin von Saba

Balkis, the Queen of Sheba and fiancée of King Soliman, visits her spouse-to-be in Jerusalem. Here she is introduced to the builder Adoniram, who is to construct a miraculous building for Soliman. She is impressed by his craftsmanship and the two fall in love. When she leaves the unloved ruler for his sake, Adoniram becomes the victim of a murderous intrigue and Balkis can only swear eternal fidelity to him beyond death.

The Queen of Sheba is a mythical figure from the 10th century BC whose existence is uncertain, however. Many artists were inspired and seduced by the description of her legendary beauty. Charles Gounod set the queen's intoxicated love for an artist, for whom she even leaves a monarch - a scandal at the time - to music in his grand opéra from 1862. It breathes the scent of mimosas on a sultry night under palm trees and will capture the stages of Düsseldorf and Duisburg this season as a concert performance with dazzling orchestral colors and virtuoso singing.