On May 22nd and 27th, 2025, the Stadtcasino Basel will be transformed into a football arena: Together with Theater Basel, we will present the world premiere of "The 7th Heaven – A Football Oratorio for Basel." Moritz Eggert composed the work to a text by Wolfgang Bortlik and Michael Klaus. Titus Engel will conduct.
In the lead-up to the UEFA Women's EURO 2025, we celebrate with this oratorio a passionate tribute to football – supported by the host city initiative «Basel. Passionate about the ball» and in cooperation with FC Basel 1893.
The roughly 90-minute work plays with the dramaturgy of a real match: two halves, pre-match analysis, and stoppage time tell the stories of fans, officials, and the emotions of the stadium. "Football was a wonderful subject for an oratorio," says composer Moritz Eggert. "Even in a smaller country, emotions run very high—and Swiss football is a champion in that!"
Wolfgang Bortlik places the action in the heart of Basel: "A rapid football career develops within the context of an FC Basel match, enriched by a legendary halftime speech and historical reminiscences."
Alongside the Basel Sinfonietta, the choir and extra choir of Theater Basel, as well as members of the opera ensemble, will participate. Speakers include Beni Huggel, Danique Stein, and sports reporter Beni Thurnheer, who describes the connection between stage and stadium as follows: "The football oratorio unites emotion, precision, and passion – I'm looking forward to being a part of it."
A warm-up beforehand
On May 22nd, we invite you to play football in the Foyer Public of Theater Basel at 2 pm. The concert introduction with Roman Reeger and Moritz Eggert will begin there at 6:15 pm.
And in the podcast «Music at the Pulse of Time» Titus Engel talks with Moritz Eggert about the new work and his view on new music – listen now:
spotify.com
Tickets
Tickets for May 22nd
Tickets for May 27th
libretto
The digital libretto with the text newly written for Basel by Wolfgang Bortlik can be found here:
