Staatsoper Unter den Linden | |
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| Named after | Unter den Linden boulevard |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1743; 282 years ago (1743) |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 52°31′00″N13°23′41″E / 52.51667°N 13.39472°E /52.51667; 13.39472 |
| Elisabeth Sobotka | |
General Music Director | Christian Thielemann |
| Website | staatsoper-berlin.de |
TheStaatsoper Unter den Linden (lit. State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as theBerlin State Opera (German:Staatsoper Berlin), is alisted building onUnter den Linden boulevard in thehistoric center ofBerlin, Germany. Theopera house was built by order of Prussian kingFrederick the Great from 1741 to 1743 according to plans byGeorg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in thePalladian style. Damaged during theAllied bombing in World War II, the formerRoyal Prussian Opera House was rebuilt from 1951 to 1955 as part of theForum Fridericianum square. NicknamedLindenoper in Berlin, it is "the world´s oldest state opera"[1] and "the first theater anywhere to be, by itself, a prominent, freestanding monumental building in a city."[2]
Originally called theKönigliche Oper ('Royal Opera'), the company was renamed thePreußische Staatsoper ('Prussian State Opera') in 1919. AfterWorld War II it began operating as the national opera company for CommunistEast Germany, taking the nameDeutsche Staatsoper ('German State Opera') in 1955.
In the West and colloquially, however, people used the nameStaatsoper Unter den Linden ('State OperaUnter den Linden') after theboulevard on which the theatre sits. This usage became more common after the collapse of East Germany in 1990, but, contrary to the company's website,[3] it was not officially adopted until 1995 and the old name still appeared on new recordings issued by the company as late as the following year.[4][5]
KingFrederick II of Prussia, shortly after his accession to the throne, commissioned the original building on the site. Though architecturally significant as an early example of the Palladian revival in Germany, the north and west façades are direct copies ofColen Campbell's elevations atStourhead andWanstead respectively.[6] Construction work began in July 1741, with what was designed byGeorg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to be the first part of a "Forum Fredericianum" on present-dayBebelplatz. Although not entirely completed, the Court Opera (Hofoper) was inaugurated with a performance of Carl Heinrich Graun'sCesare e Cleopatra on 7 December 1742. This event marked the beginning of the successful, 250-year co-operation between the Staatsoper and theStaatskapelle Berlin, the state orchestra, whose roots trace back to the 16th century.
In 1821, the Berlin Opera—hosted at theSchauspielhaus Berlin—gave the premiere of Weber'sDer Freischütz. In 1842,Wilhelm Taubert instituted the tradition of regular symphonic concerts. In the same year,Giacomo Meyerbeer succeededGaspare Spontini as General Music Director.Felix Mendelssohn also conducted symphonic concerts for a year.
On 18 August 1843 the Linden Opera was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction of the building was supervised by architectCarl Ferdinand Langhans, and the Königliches Opernhaus (Royal Opera House) was inaugurated the following autumn by a performance of Meyerbeer'sEin Feldlager in Schlesien. In 1849, Otto Nicolai'sDie lustigen Weiber von Windsor was premiered at the Royal Opera House, conducted by the composer.
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At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Royal Court Opera, Berlin, attracted many illustrious conductors. They includedFelix von Weingartner,Karl Muck,Richard Strauss,Leo Blech andGeorge Szell. After the collapse of theGerman Empire in 1918, the Opera was renamedStaatsoper Unter den Linden and theKönigliche Kapelle becameKapelle der Staatsoper.
In the 1920s,Kurt Adler,Wilhelm Furtwängler,Erich Kleiber,Otto Klemperer,Alexander von Zemlinsky,Bruno Walter occupied the conductor's post. In 1925,Alban Berg'sWozzeck, was given its premiere in a production conducted byErich Kleiber in the composer's presence.
After having undergone an extensive renovation, the Linden Opera reopened on 28 April 1928 with a new production of Mozart'sDie Zauberflöte. The cast includedDelia Reinhardt,Richard Tauber,Friedrich Schorr andLeo Schützendorf, conducted by Erich Kleiber. The same year, the famous Russian bassFeodor Chaliapin andSerge Diaghilev'sBallets Russes with conductorErnest Ansermet were guest performers. In 1930 Erich Kleiber conducted the premiere of Darius Milhaud'sChristophe Colomb. However, in 1934, when symphonic pieces from Alban Berg'sLulu were performed by Kleiber, theNational Socialists provoked a scandal and the conductor was forced into exile.
After theMachtergreifung by theNazis, members of Jewish origin were dismissed from the ensemble. Many German musicians associated with the opera went into exile, including the conductorsKurt Adler,Otto Klemperer andFritz Busch.Clemens Krauss became a prominent German conductor first at the Berlin State Opera in 1933 and was then appointed as its director in 1935 due to Fritz Busch and Erich Kleiber resigning, respectively, their positions in protest over Nazi rule. InNazi Germany,Robert Heger,Herbert von Karajan (1939–1945) andJohannes Schüler were the "Staatskapellmeister".
The opera house was destroyed on the night of 9/10 April 1941, during an air raid by the RAF. Hitler ordered its immediate reconstruction, despite wartime shortages, to increase morale. It reopened on 12 December 1942 with a performance ofDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg, conducted byWilhelm Furtwängler, in celebration of the building's 200th anniversary.[7]
The opera house was ruined again in an air raid on 3 February 1945, when it was hit by three bombs that destroyed most of the structure, except the main facade on Unter den Linden.[8]
The second rebuilding took a long time. From 1945, the opera company performed at theAdmiralspalast. From 1949, the company served as the state opera ofEast Germany. It moved back to its original home after the rebuilding in freely adapted baroque forms was finally completed in 1955. The newly rebuilt opera house was opened, again, with Wagner'sDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg. After theBerlin Wall was built in 1961, the Opera was somewhat isolated, but still maintained a comprehensive repertoire that featured the classic and romantic period together with contemporary ballet and operas.
After reunification, the Linden Opera rejoined the operatic world. Important works that had already performed in the past were rediscovered and discussed anew within the framework of a "Berlin Dramaturgy". Baroque Opera in particular was at the center of attention, with Graun'sCleopatra e Cesare, Keiser'sCroesus,Florian Leopold Gassmann'sL'opera seria and Scarlatti'sGriselda. These works were performed by Belgian conductorRené Jacobs together with theAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin and theFreiburger Barockorchester onperiod instruments. In the 1990s, the opera was officially renamedStaatsoper Unter den Linden.
In 1992, theArgentine-Israeli conductorDaniel Barenboim was appointedGeneralmusikdirektor (GMD). In 2000, the orchestra, according to its official website, elected Barenboim "conductor for life." During the 2002Festtage, he led a Wagner cycle in ten parts, a production created in collaboration with directorHarry Kupfer.
In 2009, the Berlin State Opera was closed for renovation work led by German architectHG Merz. The roof of the opera building was raised and theproscenium prolonged to improve the acoustics. The capacity is now 1,350.[9] Other renovation and extension efforts included the director's building, the below-ground connection building and the depot building. The latter houses the new rehearsal center. The house was reopened in 2017 with premieres of Humperdinck'sHänsel und Gretel and Monteverdi'sL'incoronazione di Poppea on one weekend.[10] The opera house also hosts theStaatskapelle Berlin orchestra.
On 6 January 2023, the company announced the resignation of Barenboim as its GMD, for health reasons.[11] In January 2023,Christian Thielemann stepped in as an emergency substitute conductor for Barenboim in a new company production of Richard Wagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungen. In September 2023, the company announced the appointment of Thielemann as its next GMD, effective 1 September 2024.[12][13][14]
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