Daniela Ziegler
Actress
© Karim Khawatmi
Daniela Ziegler, appearing at Oper Frankfurt for the first time as a Beggarwoman / Death in this new production of Fortner's Blood Wedding, is one of the best known actresses on television, in plays and musicals in Germany. Born in Offenbach, she appears regularly in plays at leading theatres including those in Vienna, Basel, Zurich, Hamburg and Berlin in roles ranging from the classic (Elisabeth in Maria Stuart and Helena in Faust II) to characters in works by contemporary authors (including Maria Callas in Masterclasses, Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?). She's enjoyed success in operas too: in Reimann's Troades, with the title role in Honegger's Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher and as Jenny in Brecht / Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. She enjoyed a triumph with the role of Desirée Armfeldt (Das Lächlen einer Sommernacht / A Little Light Music) directed by Brigitte Fassbaender at the Staatstheater in Braunschweig and in 2022, celebrating 50 years on the stage! the title role in Offenbach's Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein in Hamburg. She trained for musicals in New York before taking on roles including Eva Perón in the first ever performances of Evita in Vienna, Berlin and Munich, and Norma Desmond in the first ever performances of Sunset Boulevard in Germany, for which she received Germany's 1997 International Musical Award. She was Grand Duchess Sophie in Elisabeth at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, in Shanghai and Schönbrunn. A large amount of her time is taken up by taking part in films and on television, playing many lead roles which made her very popular. She has given evenings of Chanson and Lieder in places including Zurich, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, the Festwochen in Vienna and Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau. She sits on juries for film festivals and musical, chanson and operetta competitions. Daniela Ziegler won the 1978 and 1979 Hersfeld Prize, the 2024 Immenhof Film Prize and 2025 German Musical Theater Prize in honour of her lifetime's achievements and the Hagener Short Film Festival »Eat My Shorts« award. Plans include the role of the mother in Jedermann, directed by Robert Carsen, at the 2026 Salzburg Festival.