Lydia Schubert becomes the new interim director of the Leipzig Opera!

Lydia Schubert becomes the new interim director of the Leipzig Opera!

A new wind is blowing in the Leipzig Opera: Lydia Schubert will take the helm as interim director from August 2026. The Leipzig city council decided this with a clear majority. With this transitional arrangement, Schubert, who is currently serving as administrative director and second operations manager, will lead the managing directorate and take over the tasks of the first operations manager until the directorship is filled, which should take place by July 2027 at the latest. Mayor Burkhard Jung had suggested Schubert's nomination in order to secure the artistic and administrative leadership of the opera in this crucial phase. It has already been signaled that if a new artistic director is not found by July 2027, Schubert's interim could be extended until 2028 to ensure smooth planning for the coming season. MDR reports that a resolution to represent the directorate should only cover short-term absences, which does not apply in this case.

The fact that Tobias Wolff is leaving the Leipzig Opera in the summer of 2026 has made the search for a suitable successor complicated. The city council was forced to restart the appointment of the director after no suitable result resulted from the first selection process. How Leipzig Internet newspaper highlighted, various criticisms of the previous process raised eyebrows, particularly with regard to the artistic profile, which many considered to be inadequate. Music journalist Axel Brüggemann even warned of possible damage to the image of the cultural city of Leipzig, which further escalated the situation. Meanwhile, the cultural mayor, Skadi Jennicke, rejected the allegations and emphasized the structural and transparent elements of the selection process.

Challenges and strategies

The city's cultural department has clearly recognized that time is of the essence. On May 9th, the decision was made to re-initiate the process of replacing the directorship in order to ultimately find an optimal solution for the Leipzig Opera. Due to the demanding planning phases, which take several years, it is essential that the new impulses are provided promptly. The interim solution will be developed jointly by Lydia Schubert, General Music Director Ivan Repušić and the department heads to ensure seamless administrative and artistic processing from August 1, 2026.

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