Leipzig Bach Festival

Every June, the city of Leipzig honours Johann Sebastian Bach, who was the cantor of St. Thomas' Church here from 1723 until his death in 1750, with the Bach Festival. Renowned performers from all over the world can be experienced over ten days in more than 200 events. In 2025, the unique theatre and music event combines Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's drama Faust with Johann Sebastian Bach's music.

Almost 200 years ago - on 19 January 1829 - Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe premiered at the court theatre in Braunschweig. To mark the "500 Years of Auerbach's Cellar" anniversary, the Leipzig Bach Festival is presenting Goethe's drama as a music theatre event: "Bach's Faust" will celebrate its premiere on 15 June as an artistic fusion of the tragedy with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach directly at the original location of the famous barrel cellar scene. 

Goethe's tragedy Faust is one of the most important classics of German literature. In the arrangement by Michael Maul, the artistic director of the Leipzig Bach Festival, the work merges with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, which musically accompanies and comments on Goethe's text. Classical chorales and cantatas are used as well as music that reflects the moral and ideological tensions of Faust's pact with Mephisto and his tragic love for Gretchen.

Famous artists will be organising the performance series at the Bachfest Leipzig 2025, including:

• Burghart Klaußner (German theatre award DER FAUST 2012) as Faust
• Lea Ruckpaul as Gretchen
• Frank Arnold as Mephisto

The performers are Viola Blache (soprano), Susanne Langner (alto), Daniel Johannsen (tenor), Felix Schwandtke (bass) and the Camerata Lipsiensis under the direction of Gregor Meyer. The performances will be preceded by an exquisite menu from the kitchen of Auerbach's Keller.

Performance dates Bach's Faust:

• Sunday, 15 June 2025, 18:00
• Monday, 16 June 2025, 12:00 & 16:00. June 2025, 12:00 & 18:00
• Tuesday, 17 June 2025, 12:00

Goethe himself addressed Bach's music in his autobiographical and philosophical writings as well as in his conversations and letters. For Goethe, Bach was a musical role model for the sublimity and spirituality of art. His deep admiration for Bach's work is reflected in many aspects of his own aesthetics and his reflections on art.

The Leipzig Bach Festival 2025 highlights from 12 to 22 June transformation processes in Johann Sebastian Bach's oeuvre. The programme of over 200 events under the theme "Transformation" mixes traditional concerts with experimental and interdisciplinary formats. Tickets for the Bach Festival events are available online at www.bachfestleipzig.de The main sponsor of the Leipzig Bach Festival is Sparkasse Leipzig.