Extreme roles hold a particular fascination for Isabel Karajan. She has portrayed in turn death itself, the devil, a mad king, and a half-crazed comedienne with suicidal tendencies surrounded by soldiers up in the mountains during wartime. Constantly seeking the limits of experience, she “rocks […] the stage” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) with her offbeat and deeply personal interpretations and mood settings. Alongside film and theatre appearances she has also developed individual concepts for opera productions in collaboration with directors such as Klaus Ortner and Julian Pölsler.