Open-air theatre
Open-air theatre highlight directly in front of the Matterhorn
The imposing Matterhorn as a backdrop, a gripping story that gets under your skin - THE MATTERHORN STORY returns to Europe's highest open-air stage from 27 June to 23 August 2025.
- đ Emotional restaging of a true story
- đŒ Music concept by Wintershome & Elia Gasser
- đïž Unique backdrop at 2,582 metres above sea level.
- đïž Multilingual: German, Valais German & English
- đ Arrival with Gornergratbahn included
Information
«THE MATTERHORN STORY» will be performed from 27 June - 23 August 2025 at the proven and unique Riffelberg venue.
- Performances will take place from Thursday to Saturday at 7.30 pm and on Sunday at 2 pm.
- Wednesday is an alternative date throughout the season in the event of weather-related postponements.
A total of 30 performances are planned with a capacity of 500 spectators per performance.
đ You can find an overview of all performance dates here.
The languages spoken are Valais German, German and English. The play is designed so that knowledge of one language is enough to follow the plot.
The ticket price is CHF 85 per person, excluding train journey (extra journey at a special rate).
đ Buy your ticket now
People in wheelchairs receive a free ticket for our performance. Bookings only by telephone on 027 527 01 50.
The grandstand offers space for 448 spectators.
As long as the safety of the audience and performers is guaranteed, the organiser will endeavour to play the performance even in rain and bad weather and would like to point out that there may be delays to the start of the performance or interruptions.
You will receive information on the day of the performance as follows: online on the day of the performance from 1 pm (Tue, Thu-Sat) or 9 am (Sun) at the latest on our website.
If a performance has to be cancelled after 45 minutes, it is deemed to have been played (no rebooking possible). If performances are cancelled or played for less than 45 minutes, all tickets are automatically converted into vouchers and sent to all ticket holders by email within 24 hours. These vouchers generally contain all elements of the original ticket. The voucher codes can be used in the ticket shop (www.freilichtspielezermatt.ch/tickets) as a means of payment for booking a ticket for another event (including any reserve dates at the end of the season). This option is only available while tickets are still available.
The Gornergrat Railway will take you from Zermatt to Riffelberg and back on the day of the performance. As this is a special journey, you will need a ticket at the special rate of CHF 45 (GA, half-fare and day passes are not valid). Would you like to take the opportunity to visit the Gornergrat on the day of the performance? Theatre visitors can purchase a day ticket at the special rate of CHF 70.
In order to be on the Riffelberg in time for the start of the performance, here are the last possible departure times:
Tuesday and Thursday - Saturday:
- Zermatt from 18.24 / Riffelberg to 18.47
- Gornergrat from 18.18 hrs / Riffelberg arriving 18.30 hrs
Sunday and 1 August: Zermatt from
- Zermatt from 1.12 pm / Riffelberg to 1.35 pm
- Gornergrat from 1.31 pm / Riffelberg to 1.46 pm
The return journey from Riffelberg to Zermatt is also possible on Sundays and on 1 August with the Riffelberg Express (ZBAG). The special tickets are valid for both railways.
Both railway stations are located directly next to the theatre site. Please note that the ZBAG valley station is a 15-minute walk from Zermatt railway station.
In 2025, you will once again have the opportunity to round off your visit to the open-air theatre with culinary delights:
"Riffelberg" aperitif
- Drinks: Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Valais sparkling wine, fruit juice, Riffelberg spring water (sparkling and still)
- Food: Air-dried Valais specialities: dried meat, raw ham, bacon, house sausage, Valais mountain cheese, dried fruit and nuts, excellent rye bread
- Price: CHF 30 per person
Aperitif "Matterhorn"
- Drinks: Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Valais sparkling wine, fruit juice, Riffelberg spring water (sparkling and still)
- Food: Air-dried Valais specialities: dried meat, raw ham, bacon, home-made sausage, Valais mountain cheese, dried fruit and nuts, excellent rye bread, dried meat tartare, baked fondue cubes, pear with bacon, chicken skewers, puff pastry, cholera, apricot cakes
- Price: CHF 55 per person
The stand-up aperitifs can be booked for groups of 10 or more. Depending on the number of people and the weather, they take place in the Restaurant Riffelhaus 1853 or in the Buffet & Bar Riffelberg.
The aperitif starts at 17:30 on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday, and at 12:00 on Sunday and 1 August.
Taugwalder" menu (3-course)
- Appetiser: Cholera with pear chutney and salad garnish
- Main course: Sliced veal in mushroom cream sauce with spaetzli and seasonal vegetables
- Dessert: Valais apricot flan with "Schuss" and vanilla ice cream
- Price: CHF 70 per person (excl. drinks)
Menu "Whymper" (3-course, vegetarian)
- Appetiser: Cholera with pear chutney and salad garnish
- Main course: Risotto with parmesan roll
- Dessert: Valais apricot flan with "Schuss" and vanilla ice cream
- Price: CHF 70 per person (excl. drinks)
The booked menus are served on the performance days Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday from 5 p.m., on Sunday and on 1 August from 11.30 a.m. in the Restaurant Riffelhaus 1853.
Individual catering in the Restaurant Buffet & Bar Riffelberg
Enjoy a wide range of food and drinks before the theatre performance on the magnificent terrace or in the cosy rooms of the Restaurant Buffet & Bar Riffelberg.
Open-air theatre with the Matterhorn as a backdrop.
Open-air play & overnight stay - all bookable in one package
Die wahre Geschichte hinter THE MATTERHORN STORY
The play THE MATTERHORN STORY is set in 1865, when Switzerland was the poorhouse of Europe - especially in the remote Valais. Poverty, high infant mortality and widespread cretinism characterised the lives of the population. In this environment lay the small, poverty-stricken Zermatt.
From the 1840s onwards, English lords and ambitious mountaineers began travelling to Zermatt - fleeing the polluted air in their cities and with the desire to be the first to climb the Swiss four-thousand-metre peaks. The local mountain farmers were uneducated by comparison and lived in poverty. Nevertheless, they agreed to guide the guests for little money - even though they had never climbed the mountains themselves.
They became mountain guides by learning by doing - similar to today's Sherpas. However, it was mostly the English who went down in the history books.
The film focuses not only on the successful first ascent of the Matterhorn, but also on the tragedy that followed: Four of the seven people involved did not return alive. One of them, 18-year-old Lord Francis Douglas, lies somewhere on the mountain to this day.
This catastrophe made Zermatt world-famous, ended the golden age of first ascents - and even prompted Queen Victoria to consider a general ban on Alpine expeditions.
Eduard Whymper, the eloquent Englishman among the first climbers, accused the two Zermatt mountain guides Peter Taugwalder (father and son) of cutting the rope - allegedly the cause of the fall.
Whymper spread his version of the story worldwide, including in his book Scrambles among the Alps, and was celebrated as a hero. The Taugwalders, on the other hand, were unable to defend themselves against the accusations either intellectually or financially - and were unjustly vilified.
In THE MATTERHORN STORY, Livia Anne Richard tells precisely this little-known side of the story: the real heroes were not in the limelight - quite the opposite. The play was premiered in 2015 to mark the 150th anniversary of the first ascent and caused a sensation and an international media response at the time.
In 2025, the play returns to the highest open-air stage in Europe - on the Riffelberg at 2,582 metres above sea level. Livia Anne Richard has reworked it, but deliberately retained its DNA. New are additional characters and a completely new music concept: the band Wintershome (from Zermatt) and the young Bernese pianist Elia Gasser create the soundtrack. Gasser will improvise live on stage every evening.
The overall experience - travelling on the Gornergrat Railway, the unique backdrop and a deeply moving story - make THE MATTERHORN STORY an undisputed highlight of the Zermatt summer.
