To mark the 100th anniversary of the Cologne University of Music and Dance, the city's two traditional music institutions are presenting each other with gifts: on 7 April 2025, students from the vocal classes gave an acclaimed concert at the Staatenhaus. Now, members of the Cologne Opera’s International Opera Studio will give a guest performance of arias, scenes, and ensembles in the university’s concert hall.

The International Opera Studio of the Cologne Opera was the first of its kind and was founded in 1961. Since then, countless vocal artists have completed their practical training there and taken their first steps towards a major singing career on the stage of the Cologne Opera. Under the guidance of musical director Rainer Mühlbach, the young members systematically build and expand their repertoire and take part in opera and children’s opera productions.

The programme for the concert at the university includes ensembles from Mozart’s operas IDOMENEO, DON GIOVANNI, and COSÌ FAN TUTTE, from Bizet’s CARMEN and Richard Wagner’s DAS RHEINGOLD, as well as arias from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods.