The new leadership duo welcomes you to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden
“How beautiful music can be—but how beautiful it is when it’s over!” At the end of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman), these are the words that Sir Morosus sings after all the musical performances that he found so unsettling. We would like to adopt these words as our motto for the coming seasons at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, presenting music in its endless variety and beauty and allowing it to resonate with you enduringly, dear audience, over and over again. Whether it is the shared silence after the last tone sounds in the hall or a personal memory of a performance: the emotional worlds we discover through the unique art of music often remain with us for a long time after leaving the opera house. A particularly complex art form, opera can frequently surprise and overwhelm us. It has fascinated audiences for centuries and has been renewed, questioned, and celebrated across history. We seek to preserve the unique tradition at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and lead it into the future, in collaboration with all those who work here.
Richard Strauss composed Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) in the 1930s based on a libretto by Stefan Zweig, despite the animosity directed against the Jewish writer. The beautiful, very artful and yet inscrutable music of this composer and former general music director at the Staatsoper has influenced the institution for over one hundred years now and will be featured during the coming season in several concerts performed by the Staatskapelle Berlin.
The fascinating beauty that contemporary music can reveal is shown by two works that will be performed in Berlin for the very first time: György Kurtág’s Fin de partie based on the play by Samuel Beckett, an opera by one of the most important composers in recent decades, which premiered just a few years ago, and Bernard Foccroulle’s very topical treatment of the myth of Cassandra, which also explores how humanity treats our planet. These two operas and several new productions of operas from past centuries allow us to engage with relevant issues of our time in a gripping and inspiring way. New this season: a few days before each premiere, we offer the opportunity to briefly visit a rehearsal in the early evening and learn about the conceptual ideas behind the production.
In their presumably first encounter with the art form, we would like to instill in many young people a sense of amazement and fascination for opera as a sophisticated art form. As part of the program Junge Staatsoper (Young State Opera), which has been an important part of our work for many years now, this season we will offer young people the opportunity to experience a contemporary version of Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz, created especially for them, in the unique historic ambience of the main hall. The performance of the Kinderopernhaus will also deal with Weber’s music and be held in the generous space of Probebühne 1. Young people are also welcome to attend the final rehearsal of select concerts of the Staatskapelle Berlin.
The following pages of this season preview offer insights on the star-studded productions of our extensive repertoire, our manifold and rich concert program, several special events, and extensive information all about attending a performance. We hope you enjoy browsing through it and finding the performances you would like to attend. As the new team at the helm of the Staatsoper, we look forward to welcoming you to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden!
Elisabeth Sobotka General Director
Christian Thielemann General Music Director