Lydia Schubert will be the new interim manager of the Leipzig Opera!

Lydia Schubert will be the new interim manager of the Leipzig Opera!

A new wind is blowing in the Leipzig Opera: Lydia Schubert will take over the helm as an interim manager from August 2026. The Leipzig city council decided this with a clear majority. Schubert, who is currently on duty as an administrative director and second operations manager, will conduct the executive directorate with this transitional regulation and take over the tasks of the first manager until the new company is to be filled by July 2027 at the latest. Mayor Burkhard Jung had proposed Schubert's nomination to secure the artistic and administrative leadership of the opera in this decisive phase. It has already been signaled that no new director could be found by July 2027, Schubert's interim could be expanded by 2028 to ensure smooth planning of the coming season. mdr reports that a decision to represent the intendance should only cover short-term failures, which in this case is not applies.

The fact that Tobias Wolff leaves the Leipzig opera in the summer of 2026 made the search for a suitable successor complicated. The city council was forced to restart the re -occupation of the directorate after no suitable result from the first selection process. As Leipziger Internet Zeitung emphasized various criticisms at the previous procedure, especially with regard to the artistic profile, which many as inadequate considered. Music journalist Axel Brüggemann even warned of a possible image damage for the cultural city of Leipzig, which also escalated the situation. In the meantime, the Mayor of Culture Skadi Jennicke rejected the allegations and emphasized the structural and transparent elements of the selection process.

challenges and strategies

The city's cultural office has clearly recognized that time is pushing. On May 9th, the decision was made to initiate the process to re -fill the directorate again in order to finally find an optimal solution for the Leipzig Opera. Due to the demanding planning phases that take several years, it is essential that the new impulses are set promptly. The interim solution is developed jointly by Lydia Schubert, General Music Director Ivan Reppušić and the division to ensure a complete administrative and artistic handling from August 1, 2026.

In the current situation, the need for protection for the artistic decisions of the upcoming season 2026/27 is emphasized. These challenges are in the context of a changing creative landscape, which is also affected by the knowledge from art sociology. Research from Leipzig shows that demographic change and emigration of talented young people are a threat to many East German cities. It is therefore crucial to set innovative impulses and to include all social groups in the cultural processes.