{"id":345492,"date":"2026-11-14T20:50:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T19:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneveinfos.ch\/2026\/11\/14\/black-rider-tobs-bienne-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T20:50:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T19:50:47","slug":"black-rider-tobs-bienne-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneveinfos.ch\/en\/2026\/11\/14\/black-rider-tobs-bienne-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Black Rider at Biel Municipal Theatre, 4 Dec. 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOBS! presents the premiere of The Black Rider, The Casting of the Magic Bullets by Tom Waits, Robert Wilson and William S. Burroughs. It takes place at the Biel Municipal Theatre on Friday 4 December 2026 at 7.30 pm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The work premiered on 31 March 1990 at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. It played at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet in Paris on 9 October 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Wilson created the original staging, Tom Waits the music and William S. Burroughs the libretto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lyrics are by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story draws on Johann August Apel's tale and the Freisch\u00fctz motif, earlier set as an opera by Carl Maria von Weber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilhelm, a young clerk, makes a pact with the devil to marry the gamekeeper's daughter. He receives magic bullets that always hit their target, except the last one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Waits released the music from the show on the album The Black Rider in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An English-language version opened at the Barbican in London in May 2004, with Marianne Faithfull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1994 more than 100 licensed productions have been staged, mostly in German-speaking and Scandinavian countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Biel, Olivier Tambosi and Iwan Wassilevski offer a new reading. It is their fifth collaboration with TOBS!, after Sweeney Todd, Cabaret and Im weissen R\u00f6ssl (The White Horse Inn).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who organises it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The show is produced by TOBS!, the Biel Solothurn Theatre and Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to find<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Direction and set by Olivier Tambosi, musical direction by Iwan Wassilevski. Costumes by Anna-Sophie Lienbacher, lighting by Samuele D'Amico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christian Manuel Oliveira plays Wilhelm and Katharina Willi plays K\u00e4thchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Christiane Boesiger, Anna Murphy, Fabian Netos-Claus, Christoph Wettstein and Konstantin Nazlamov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra accompanies the cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Biel dates on 8, 30 and 31 December 2026, then 5, 7, 26, 28 and 31 January 2027. The 30 December show offers audio description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n