Dagmar Manzel
See Dagmar Manzel (Stage Director)
The Berlin-based actress, singer and director Dagmar Manzel combines remarkable versatility as a performer with musical expressiveness and an unmistakable stage presence. She sings, she dances, she gives every performance her all. Few actresses transform themselves into their roles with such chameleon-like ease – one moment she is a cheeky young girl, the next a woman of the world. Yet she never simply plays a role; she embodies each character with every fibre of her being. Her artistry has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, the Actress of the Year award, the Deutscher Fernsehpreis, the Deutscher Schauspielerpreis and the Deutscher Filmpreis.
Alongside theatre, film and television, music is another of Dagmar Manzel’s great passions. She has captivated audiences with major song recitals and leading roles in music-theatre productions, and increasingly through her work as a director, at venues including the Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Köln, Hans-Otto Theater Potsdam and Deutsches Theater, as well as at renowned institutions and festivals such as the Cité de la Musique in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Choriner Sommer, the Salzburger Festspiele, Konzerthaus Berlin and Philharmonie Berlin.
In the 2026/27 season, Dagmar Manzel will appear at the Komische Oper Berlin as the Narr in Aribert Reimann’s Lear. In spring 2027, she will also return there as Golde in Anatevka, and will appear in the world premiere of Cast a Diva, composed especially for her by Iiro Rantala, directed by Ingo Kerkhof.
Dagmar Manzel has shared a close artistic relationship with the Komische Oper Berlin for more than two decades, appearing in numerous major music-theatre productions. Her outstanding roles include Cleopatra (Die Perlen der Cleopatra), Daisy Darlington (Ball im Savoy), Manon (Eine Frau, die weiß, was sie will), Lilli Vanessi (Kiss me, Kate), Ottilie (Im weißen Rössl), Anna (Die sieben Todsünden) and Golde (Anatevka). She has also appeared as a guest at major venues with productions from the house, including Philharmonie Köln, Hamburgische Staatsoper and Staatsoperette Dresden. In the 2024/25 season, she returned to the stage at the Komische Oper Berlin as Mrs Lovett in the acclaimed new production of Sweeney Todd.
Beyond the world of operetta, Dagmar Manzel has also made a name for herself with her own concert and song programmes. With MENSCHENsKIND and SEHNSUCHT, both of which have also been released as CDs, she created acclaimed musical evenings that took her to numerous cities across Germany and to prestigious events including the Rheingau Musikfestspiele and the Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, as well as to Oper Frankfurt.
In contemporary music theatre, Dagmar Manzel took the leading role in the world premiere of Helmuth Oehring’s Agotaat Staatstheater Wiesbaden. At the Bayerische Staatsoper, she appeared successfully in Igor Stravinsky’s Die Geschichte vom Soldaten under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski. At the Salzburger Festspiele, she performed Cassandra with ensemble modern.
Dagmar Manzel is a graduate of the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch Berlin. She began her career in theatre before establishing herself as one of the defining actresses of her generation across music theatre, film and television. Her artistic development took her early on to major stages and institutions and has evolved into a continuous engagement with acting, music theatre, concert performance and directing.