FESTIVE REOPENING: STAATSOPER UNTER DEN LINDEN

Berlin’s famous Staatsoper Unter den Linden is reopening after major renovations with “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust”, conducted by Daniel Barenboim

After seven years of renovation, just in time for its 275th anniversary, the Staatsoper Berlin is back in its place of origin: Unter den Linden! Its grand Reopening is solemnized with a “Prelude” of the special kind.

“When, to the moment then, I say: Ah, stay a while!” – this quotation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the motto of the festive opening performance taking place on October 3rd – the German Unity Day – in the presence of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Consequently, the programme is German: an exceptional staging of Robert Schumann’s “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust”. Under the direction of Jürgen Flimm and in the sets of acclaimed German artist Markus Lüpertz, Schumann’s orchestral work is transformed in a captivating drama. In the glow of the renovated opera hall Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin perform alongside soloists such as Roman Trekel, Elsa Dreisig and René Pape. Besides the vocal parts, the main characters Faust, Gretchen and Mephistopheles are embodied by the renowned actors André Jung, Meike Droste and Sven-Eric Bechtolf.

The Prelude starts on September 30th with an open air performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony on the Bebelplatz, right next to the Staatsoper, with projections onto the Staatsoper building, and continues with several symphonic concerts. A magic dwells in each beginning and so this Prelude is a symbol for a lot of magic moments which are yet to be experienced in the upcoming season.

A production of ZDF, Arte and Unitel