Deutsche Oper Berlin
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera
company located in the Charlottenburg
district of Berlin
, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet
.
's Fidelio
, conducted by Ignatz Waghalter
.
After the incorporation of Charlottenburg into Greater Berlin
, the name of the resident building was changed to Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera House) in 1925. With the Nazi Machtergreifung
in 1933, the opera was under control of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
. Minister Joseph Goebbels
had the name changed back to Deutsches Opernhaus, competing the Berlin State Opera
in Mitte
under the control of his rival Minister President Hermann Göring
. In 1935, the building was remodeled by Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2300 to 2098. Carl Ebert
, the pre–World War II general manager, chose to emigrate from Germany rather than endorse a Nazi view of music, and went on to co-found the Glyndebourne opera festival
in England. The opera house was destroyed by an air raid on November 23, 1943. Ebert later returned as general manager after the war.
After the war, the company in what was now West Berlin
used the nearby building of the Theater des Westens until the reconstruction of the opera house, soberly designed by Fritz Bornemann
, was completed on September 24, 1961. The opening production was Mozart's Don Giovanni
. The new building opened with the current name.
Past General Music Directors have included Bruno Walter
, Kurt Adler
, Ferenc Fricsay
, Lorin Maazel
, Gerd Albrecht
, Jesús López-Cobos
, Christian Thielemann
. In October 2005, the Italian conductor Renato Palumbo was appointed Generalmusikdirector as of the 2006-2007 season. In October 2007, the Deutsche Oper announced the appointment of Donald Runnicles
as their next Generalmusikdirector, effective August 2009, for an initial contract of 5 years. Simultaneously, Palumbo and the Deutsche Oper mutually agreed to terminate his contract, effective November 2007.
Since 2004, the Deutsche Oper's Intendantin has been Kirsten Harms. She is scheduled to relinquish the post in 2011.
, a student taking part in the German student movement
, was shot in the streets around the opera house. He had been protesting against the visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran
.
In April 2001, the Italian conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli
died at the podium while conducting Verdi's Aida
, at age 54.
In September 2006, the opera house drew criticism after it cancelled performances of Mozart's opera
Idomeneo
because of fears that a scene in it featuring the severed heads of Jesus
, Buddha
and Muhammad
would offend Muslims, and that the opera house's security might come under threat if violent protests took place. Critics of the decision include German Ministers
and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel
. The reaction from Muslims has been mixed — the leader of Germany's Islamic Council welcomed the decision, whilst a leader of Germany's Turkish community, criticising the decision, said:
At the end of October 2006 the opera house announced that performances of Mozart's opera
Idomeneo
would then proceed. On this subject, see also 2006 Idomeneo controversy.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company located in the Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
district of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet
Berlin State Ballet
The Berlin State Ballet is the principal ballet company in the German capital of Berlin. It was created in 2004 through a merger of the separate ballet companies of the city's three opera houses at a time when the city was going through a financial crisis. It is one of the largest ballet companies...
.
History
The company's history goes back to the Deutsches Opernhaus built by the then independent city of Charlottenburg on Bismarckstraße from 1911 and opened on November 7, 1912 with a performance of BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, conducted by Ignatz Waghalter
Ignatz Waghalter
Ignatz Waghalter was a Polish-German composer and conductor.-Early years:Waghalter was born into a poor but musically-accomplished Jewish family in Warsaw. His eldest brother, Henryk Waghalter , became a renowned cellist at the Warsaw Conservatory. Wladyslaw , the youngest Waghalter brother,...
.
After the incorporation of Charlottenburg into Greater Berlin
Greater Berlin Act
The Greater Berlin Act , in full the Law Regarding the Reconstruction of the New Local Authority of Berlin , was a law passed by the Prussian government in 1920 that greatly expanded the size of the German capital of Berlin.-History:...
, the name of the resident building was changed to Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera House) in 1925. With the Nazi Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, the opera was under control of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was Nazi Germany's ministry that enforced Nazi Party ideology in Germany and regulated its culture and society. Founded on March 13, 1933, by Adolf Hitler's new National Socialist government, the Ministry was headed by Dr...
. Minister Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
had the name changed back to Deutsches Opernhaus, competing the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
in Mitte
Mitte (locality)
Mitte is a central locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Mitte. Until 2001 it was itself an autonomous district....
under the control of his rival Minister President Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
. In 1935, the building was remodeled by Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2300 to 2098. Carl Ebert
Carl Ebert
Carl Ebert was a German theatre and opera producer and administrator.-Biography:He worked as an actor and theatre director in Germany from 1915 to 1927, directing Brecht's In The Jungle of Cities in Darmstadt in 1927...
, the pre–World War II general manager, chose to emigrate from Germany rather than endorse a Nazi view of music, and went on to co-found the Glyndebourne opera festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
in England. The opera house was destroyed by an air raid on November 23, 1943. Ebert later returned as general manager after the war.
After the war, the company in what was now West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
used the nearby building of the Theater des Westens until the reconstruction of the opera house, soberly designed by Fritz Bornemann
Fritz Bornemann
Fritz Bornemann was a German architect.- Life and works :Bornemann studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin. After graduating in 1936, he was Assistant Scenic Designer at the Berlin Municipal Opera and, starting in 1945, Construction Supervisor with the city of Berlin...
, was completed on September 24, 1961. The opening production was Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. The new building opened with the current name.
Past General Music Directors have included Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, Kurt Adler
Kurt Adler
Kurt Adler was an Austrian classical music conductor, chorus master and pianist with a European musical education. He was best known as the chorus master and conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973...
, Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leo Weiner. Fricsay had a meteoric rise to fame, making his first appearance as a...
, Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Gerd Albrecht
Gerd Albrecht
Gerd Albrecht is a German conductor. He was a first-prize winner at the International Conductors Competition in Besançon at age 22. His first post was as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera. Later, he became Senior Kapellmeister at the Mainz Municipal Theatre, and Generalmusikdirektor in...
, Jesús López-Cobos
Jesús López-Cobos
Jesús López-Cobos is a Spanish conductor.López-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Castile-León, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy...
, Christian Thielemann
Christian Thielemann
-Career:Thielemann studied viola and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and took private lessons in composition and conducting before becoming répétiteur aged 19 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Heinrich Hollreiser and working as Herbert von Karajan's assistant...
. In October 2005, the Italian conductor Renato Palumbo was appointed Generalmusikdirector as of the 2006-2007 season. In October 2007, the Deutsche Oper announced the appointment of Donald Runnicles
Donald Runnicles
Donald Runnicles is a Scottish conductor who has worked extensively in other countries, particularly Germany and the USA....
as their next Generalmusikdirector, effective August 2009, for an initial contract of 5 years. Simultaneously, Palumbo and the Deutsche Oper mutually agreed to terminate his contract, effective November 2007.
Since 2004, the Deutsche Oper's Intendantin has been Kirsten Harms. She is scheduled to relinquish the post in 2011.
Controversy
On the evening of 2 June 1967, Benno OhnesorgBenno Ohnesorg
Benno Ohnesorg was a German university student killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin.- Death :On June 2, 1967, Ohnesorg participated in a protest held near the Deutsche Oper, aimed against the state visit of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was attending a...
, a student taking part in the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
, was shot in the streets around the opera house. He had been protesting against the visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
.
In April 2001, the Italian conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli
Giuseppe Sinopoli
-Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...
died at the podium while conducting Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, at age 54.
In September 2006, the opera house drew criticism after it cancelled performances of Mozart's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
because of fears that a scene in it featuring the severed heads of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
and Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
would offend Muslims, and that the opera house's security might come under threat if violent protests took place. Critics of the decision include German Ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
. The reaction from Muslims has been mixed — the leader of Germany's Islamic Council welcomed the decision, whilst a leader of Germany's Turkish community, criticising the decision, said:
"This is about art, not about politics ... We should not make art dependent on religion — then we are back in the Middle Ages."
At the end of October 2006 the opera house announced that performances of Mozart's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
would then proceed. On this subject, see also 2006 Idomeneo controversy.
Intendanten (General Managers)
- Georg Hartmann (1912–1923)
- Wilhelm Holthoff von Faßmann (1923–1925)
- Heinz TietjenHeinz TietjenHeinz Tietjen was a German conductor and music producer born in Tangier, Morocco.- Biography :At age twenty-three, he held the position of producer at the Opera House in Trier and was appointed its director in 1907, holding the dual roles until 1922...
(1925–1931) - Carl EbertCarl EbertCarl Ebert was a German theatre and opera producer and administrator.-Biography:He worked as an actor and theatre director in Germany from 1915 to 1927, directing Brecht's In The Jungle of Cities in Darmstadt in 1927...
(1931–1933) - Max von SchillingsMax von SchillingsMax von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925....
(1933) - Wilhelm Rode (1934–1943)
- Hans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-Isserstedt was a German conductor and composer.-Early life:Born in Berlin, he studied music in Heidelberg and Münster. He was also a composition student with Franz Schreker at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and received a doctorate in 1923.-Career:He was a repetiteur at the...
(1943–1944) - Michael Bohnen (1945–1947)
- Heinz Tietjen (1948–1954)
- Carl EbertCarl EbertCarl Ebert was a German theatre and opera producer and administrator.-Biography:He worked as an actor and theatre director in Germany from 1915 to 1927, directing Brecht's In The Jungle of Cities in Darmstadt in 1927...
, again (1954–1961) - Gustav Rudolf Sellner (1961–1972)
- Egon SeefehlnerEgon SeefehlnerEgon Seefehlner was an Austrian jurist, editor and opera intendant.Seefehlner was born in Vienna Austria where he studied law at the Konsularakademie Wien. From 1938 to 1943 it was active in the politico-economic department of AEG, Berlin. From 1945 to 1961 he returned to Vienna where he worked as...
(1972–1976) - Siegfried PalmSiegfried PalmSiegfried Palm was a German cellist who is known worldwide for his interpretations of contemporary music. Many 20th-century composers like Kagel, Ligeti, Xenakis, Penderecki and Zimmermann wrote music for him....
(1976–1981) - Götz FriedrichGötz FriedrichGötz Friedrich was a German opera and theatre director.He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in Berlin, where he went on to direct his early productions...
(1981–2000) - André Schmitz (interim, 2000–2001)
- Udo ZimmermannUdo ZimmermannUdo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...
(2001–2003) - Heinz Dieter Sense / Peter Sauerbaum (interim, 2003–2004)
- Kirsten Harms (2004–present)
Generalmusikdirektoren (Music Directors)
- Ignatz WaghalterIgnatz WaghalterIgnatz Waghalter was a Polish-German composer and conductor.-Early years:Waghalter was born into a poor but musically-accomplished Jewish family in Warsaw. His eldest brother, Henryk Waghalter , became a renowned cellist at the Warsaw Conservatory. Wladyslaw , the youngest Waghalter brother,...
(1912–1923) - Bruno WalterBruno WalterBruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
(1925–1929) - Kurt AdlerKurt AdlerKurt Adler was an Austrian classical music conductor, chorus master and pianist with a European musical education. He was best known as the chorus master and conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973...
, resident conductor (1932–1933) - Artur RotherArtur RotherArtur Martin Rother was a German conductor who worked mainly in the opera house.He was born in Stettin, Pomerania . His father was an organist and music teacher. He studied under Hugo Kaun and other teachers. By the age of 20, in 1906, he was conducting in Wiesbaden, and was assistant conductor...
(1935–1943, 1953–1958) - Karl Dammer (1937–1943)
- Ferenc FricsayFerenc FricsayFerenc Fricsay was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leo Weiner. Fricsay had a meteoric rise to fame, making his first appearance as a...
(1949–1952) - Richard Kraus (1954–1961)
- Heinrich HollreiserHeinrich HollreiserHeinrich Hollreiser was a German conductor.Born in Munich, he attended the State Academy of Music there, and went on to serve as the conductor at the opera houses in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Duisburg. From 1942-1945 he served as the principal conductor of the Bavarian State Opera, while...
, chief conductor (1961–1964) - Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
(1965–1971) - Gerd AlbrechtGerd AlbrechtGerd Albrecht is a German conductor. He was a first-prize winner at the International Conductors Competition in Besançon at age 22. His first post was as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera. Later, he became Senior Kapellmeister at the Mainz Municipal Theatre, and Generalmusikdirektor in...
, resident conductor (1972–74) - Jesús López-CobosJesús López-CobosJesús López-Cobos is a Spanish conductor.López-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Castile-León, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy...
(1981–1990) - Giuseppe SinopoliGiuseppe Sinopoli-Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...
(1990) - Rafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid...
(1992–1997) - Christian ThielemannChristian Thielemann-Career:Thielemann studied viola and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and took private lessons in composition and conducting before becoming répétiteur aged 19 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Heinrich Hollreiser and working as Herbert von Karajan's assistant...
(1997–2004) - Renato Palumbo (2006–2008)
- Donald RunniclesDonald RunniclesDonald Runnicles is a Scottish conductor who has worked extensively in other countries, particularly Germany and the USA....
(2009-)