German opera company
The
Deutsche Oper Berlin
is a German
opera
company located in the
Charlottenburg
district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest
opera house
(after Munich's
[1]
) and also home to the
Berlin State Ballet
.
Since 2004, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, like the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (
Berlin State Opera
), the
Komische Oper Berlin
, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Buhnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation.
[2]
History
[
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]
The company's history goes back to the
Deutsches Opernhaus
built by the then independent city of Charlottenburg?the "richest town of
Prussia
"
[3]
?according to plans designed by
Heinrich Seeling
from 1911. It opened on 7 November 1912 with a performance of
Beethoven
's
Fidelio
, conducted by
Ignatz Waghalter
. In 1925, after the incorporation of Charlottenburg by the 1920
Greater Berlin Act
, the name of the resident building was changed to
Stadtische Oper
(Municipal Opera).
With the Nazi
seizure of power
in 1933, the opera was under control of the Reich
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
. Minister
Joseph Goebbels
had the name changed back to
Deutsches Opernhaus
, competing with the
Berlin State Opera
in
Mitte
controlled by his rival, the
Prussian
minister-president
Hermann Goring
. In 1935, the building was remodeled by
Paul Baumgarten
and the seating reduced from 2,300 to 2,098 places.
Carl Ebert
, the pre-World War II general manager, chose to emigrate from Germany rather than endorse the Nazi view of music, and went on to co-found the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
in England.
[4]
He was replaced by
Max von Schillings
, who acceded to demands that he enact works of "unalloyed German character". Several artists, like the conductor
Fritz Stiedry
and the singer
Alexander Kipnis
, followed Ebert into emigration. The opera house was destroyed by a
Royal Air Force
air raid
on 23 November 1943. Performances continued at the
Admiralspalast
in Mitte until 1945. Ebert returned to serve as general manager after the war.
After the war, in what had now been called
West Berlin
, the company, again called
Stadtische Oper
, used the nearby
Theater des Westens
; its opening production was
Fidelio
, on 4 September 1945. Its home was finally rebuilt in 1961 but to a much-changed, sober design by
Fritz Bornemann
. The opening production of the newly renamed
Deutsche Oper
, on 24 September, was Mozart's
Don Giovanni
.
On the evening of 2 June 1967,
Benno Ohnesorg
, 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
, who was attending a performance of Mozart's
The Magic Flute
.
Past
Generalmusikdirektoren
(GMD, general music directors) have included
Bruno Walter
,
Kurt Adler
,
Ferenc Fricsay
,
Lorin Maazel
,
Gerd Albrecht
,
Jesus Lopez-Cobos
,
Giuseppe Sinopoli
, and
Christian Thielemann
. In April 2001, Sinopoli died at the podium while conducting
Aida
, at age 54. In October 2005,
Renato Palumbo
was appointed GMD as of the 2006?2007 season.
[5]
In October 2007, the Deutsche Oper announced the appointment of
Donald Runnicles
as their next
Generalmusikdirektor
, effective August 2009, for an initial contract of five years.
[6]
Simultaneously, Palumbo and the Deutsche Oper mutually agreed to terminate his contract, effective November 2007. In November 2020, the company announced the most recent extension of Runnicles' contract as its GMD, through 2027.
[7]
In September 2023, the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced that Runnicles is to stand down as its GMD at the close of the 2025-2026 season, one season earlier than his most recent contract extension, at Runnicles' own request.
[8]
The current
Intendant
(artistic director) of the company is Dietmar Schwarz, and his current contract with the company is through 31 July 2025.
[7]
The current executive director of the company is Thomas Fehrle, who is currently contracted with the company through 2027.
[7]
In February 2023, the company announced the appointment of Aviel Cahn as its next
Intendant
, effective 1 August 2026.
[9]
Idomeneo controversy
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]
In September 2006, the Deutsche Oper's then-
Intendantin
(general manager)
Kirsten Harms
drew criticism after she cancelled the production of Mozart's opera
Idomeneo
by
Hans Neuenfels
, because of fears that a scene in that production 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. (This is a departure from the original
libretto
, in which there is no such scene.) Critics of the decision include German
Ministers
and the
German Chancellor
Angela Merkel
.
[10]
The reaction from Muslims was 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."
[11]
At the end of October 2006, the opera house announced that performances of Mozart's opera
Idomeneo
would then proceed.
[12]
Premieres
[
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Stadtische Oper Berlin
[
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]
Stadtisches Opernhaus Berlin
[
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]
Deutsche Oper Berlin
[
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]
Intendanten
(General Managers)
[
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]
Generalmusikdirektoren
(Music Directors)
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]