Portrait of Anisha Bondy

Music theatre beyond the stage.

I create participatory music theatre where people meet – in the opera house, in the city, and far beyond.

Direct

Opera & Music Theatre

From classic repertoire to contemporary music theatre. On stage and in concert.

Create

New Formats & Staged Concerts

I develop new forms between music, space and story. Concerts that become theatre.

Participate

Participatory Music Theatre

Participation as part of the art. Not education after the art. People become part of the work.

Approach

Not education after the art. Participation as part of the art.

I work at the intersection of opera, staged concerts and community projects. Whatever the format, the question stays the same: how music theatre can become a place where people genuinely meet – not just watch, but take part.

Biography

Anisha Bondy was born in London in 1981, with roots in London, Vienna, Mallorca and Berlin. She studied music theatre directing at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, graduating in 2005 with a production of Carl Orff’s “Die Kluge”. Her early practice took her to Theater Basel and Oper Köln, where she worked alongside Katharina Thalbach, and from 2011 to 2014 she was assistant director at the Bayreuth Festival, on Sebastian Baumgarten’s “Tannhäuser”.

For many years she worked as a Spielleiterin (revival director) at the Komische Oper Berlin, supported by a scholarship from the Akademie Musiktheater heute (Deutsche Bank Stiftung). From 2015 she spent seven years as artistic director of Selam Opera!, together with Mustafa Akça, developing the formats Pop-Up-Opera and Operndolmuş, and staged concert formats with conductor Vladimir Jurowski.

Since 2023 she has worked for the Philharmonie Luxembourg and collaborates with the Fondation EME. She has also begun writing herself: her own text for “Der Zauberer von Oz” premieres in 2026. Based in Vienna, she works internationally.

open:Confirm place of residence (mockup says Vienna, some sources say Berlin)

Worked with

Barrie Kosky, Andreas Homoki, Hans Neuenfels, Vladimir Jurowski, Katharina Thalbach, Claus Guth, Peter Konwitschny, Sebastian Baumgarten, Michael Thalheimer, Benedict Andrews

I believe in encounters. In music theatre that opens doors – in both directions.

Timeline

  1. 2010The Snow QueenKomische Oper Berlin
  2. 2015–2022Selam Opera!Komische Oper Berlin
  3. 201870/35 – a sacred actKonzerthaus Berlin, ensemble unitedberlin · Vladimir Jurowski
  4. 2019/20FluchtKomische Oper Berlin · Vladimir Jurowski
  5. 2019Les espaces acoustiquesKonzerthaus Berlin · Vladimir Jurowski
  6. 2022The Night Before ChristmasRundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin · Vladimir Jurowski, Philharmonie Berlin, George Enescu Choir Bucharest
  7. 2023The World is TurningPhilharmonie Luxembourg
  8. 2024Peter PanPhilharmonie Luxembourg
  9. 2025Lene fliegt ins ZirkuslandPhilharmonie Luxembourg
  10. 2025/26Hansel and GretelPhilharmonie Luxembourg
  11. 2026pOperaFondation EME / Philharmonie Luxembourg
  12. 2026Der Zauberer von OzPhilharmonie Luxembourg & Musikverein Vienna (Brucknerhaus Linz, 03/2027)
  13. 2026Sleeping BeautyPhilharmonie Luxembourg
  14. 2026The Midnight DoorNot yet known

Press & awards

Partners

Komische Oper Berlin, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Musikverein Wien, Fondation EME, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, ensemble unitedberlin, Zaltimbanq' Zirkus

open:Showreel
open:Nomination “Schauspielbühne” (prize and year?)
open:Photo credit for the portrait
open:Approval to name partners