275 years of Staatsoper Unter den Linden: An anniversary concert and two opera premieres to celebrate the jubilee
Press release of 9 November 2017
In December the Staatsoper Unter den Linden celebrates its 275th anniversary – with a concert on the day of the jubilee (7th December) followed by two opera premieres in the recently re-opened and extensively restored opera house. To commemorate this special date, a book will be published at the beginning of December by Carl Hanser Verlag in Munich: »These precious moments. 275 years of Staatsoper Unter den Linden«, which provides insight into the long and rich history of the opera house Unter den Linden.
By command of King Frederick II, the »Königliche Hofoper (Royal Court Opera)« was opened in a festive ceremony on 7th December 1742 with a performance of Carl Heinrich Graun’s gala opera »Cleopatra e Cesare«, which had been composed specifically for this purpose. At that time the Opera was the largest opera house in Europe and the first detached building of its kind. This day also marked the beginning of more than 250 years of successful cooperation of Staatsoper and Staatskapelle whose roots date back to the 16th century. 275 years later Staatsoper Unter den Linden looks back on a chequered and very eventful history, moulded by different political and artistic phases. The opera moving back into its traditional domicile Unter den Linden in this anniversary year after seven years of profound re-building and refurbishment marks a new chapter in this history.
On 7th December, the very day when the Staatsoper Unter den Linden opened for the first time 275 years ago, a special concert programme is performed in the main hall – played by the Staatskapelle Berlin and conducted by General Musical Director Daniel Barenboim. Works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Pierre Boulez and Richard Strauss are featured – three composers who worked at the Staatsoper as general musical directors, permanent conductors and honorary conductors themselves. Immediately after the concert, on 8th and 9th December, two new productions will premiere: first Engelbert Humperdinck’s »Hänsel und Gretel« (Achim Freyer │ Sebastian Weigle), one of the classics of opera literature, and just one day later Claudio Monteverdi’s »L’incoronazione di Poppea« (Eva-Maria Höckmayr │ Diego Fasolis), one of the oldest known operas. Afterwards, Staatsoper starts its regular performances with works from the repertoire (among others »Die Zauberflöte«, »Don Giovanni« and »La Bohème«) and concerts.
Tickets are available at www.staatsoper-berlin.de, by phone on +49 (0)30 20 35 45 55 (Mon to Sat 10 am to 8pm | on Sundays and holidays noon to 8pm), by e-mail to tickets@staatsoper-berlin.de or personally from the Ticket Box to the left of the Staatsoper portico (every day 11:00 - 19:00 hours). The box office in the foyer of Staatsoper Unter den Linden will open at the end of November 2017.
Individual tickets for the 2018 FESTTAGE festival go on sale on 25th November at 10am. Further information on the FESTTAGE programme can be found here: https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en/programme-2016-2017/festtage-18/