Reconstruction

Since autumn 2010, the most lavish renovation measures in the history of the Berliner Staatsoper – the Berlin State Opera – have been taking place at a cost of roughly € 296 million (gross). Contributing to the general renovation are the German federal government with about € 200 million as well as friends and patrons of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with € 3 million.

Following public debates about the redesign of the auditorium, the architect HG Merz was commissioned to renovate the historic monument. The ensemble of buildings comprising the Staatsoper is very much in need of a general overhaul. While complying with listed building requirements, structural defects are therefore being remedied and the antiquated building equipment updated in line with modern safety requirements. The accessibility, air-conditioning and fire protection are also being improved. The outer appearance of the opera house will, however, remain the same when viewed from a pedestrian perspective. The volume of the auditorium is being enlarged so as to improve the acoustics. To achieve this, the hall is being expanded upwards within the existing building structure by raising the historic ceiling. The design of the Opera House Unter den Linden will also include the restoration and design of fixtures and colour schemes from 1955.

During the construction phase, the State Opera ensemble is performing in the Schiller Theater in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.


The sound of opera house?

1742:
The ouverture
The opera house was opened in 1742 as a court opera house, and experienced its first premiere in the still uncompleted building. This thus saw the start of the more than 250-year successful collaboration between the Berliner Staatsoper and the current Berliner Staatskapelle.

The architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was commissioned to design the building. He conceived the opera in the Palladian style. The King selected a fortress site near the Kronprinzenpalais where he lived. By placing it on the city’s main axis – the Unter den Linden boulevard – and not as would be usual within the palace complex, this created Europe’s first independent theatre building as a cultural expression of the Enlightenment.

The building, which was conceived as a nave, comprises the Apollo Hall (banqueting hall, foyer), the Theatre Hall (auditorium, ballroom) and the Corinthian Hall (stage and concert hall). Together with the Kronprinzenpalais, the Prinzessinnenpalais and the Zeughaus, the court opera house was the fourth prestigious building on Unter den Linden.

1950–1955:
The intermezzo
After the Staatsoper had already been damaged in 1942 and undergone comprehensive renovation, the massive destruction in the last year of the war led to the decision to rebuild it.

Plans became more concrete following the founding of the GDR state in October 1949 and the demolition of the Berlin royal palace. The former Poelzig student and Gropius assistant, Richard Paulick, was asked to produce a design for its reconstruction. The aim was to remove all stylistically incongruous changes that had been made during the building’s history and to reconstruct it in accordance with Knobelsdorff’s intentions.

Within three years, Richard Paulick and his “Design Collective” succeeded in making the hitherto most important contribution to the GDR’s cultural renaissance. For example, the Apollo Hall with its ornament inspired by original motifs provides an excellent example of the creative but nevertheless responsible approach to dealing with existing heritage. The auditorium with its three galleries, which is unusually lavish by socialist standards, provides testimony to the cultural assuredness of the early 1950s.

The Deutsche Staatsoper opened on 4 October 1955 with Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”.


Richard Paulick
The architect Richard Paulick was born on 7 November 1903 in Roßlau (Anhalt). From 1923 to 1927 he studied architecture in Dresden and Berlin, including among others under Hans Poelzig. He also nurtured professional connections with the Bauhaus and worked in the office of Walter Gropius, which shaped his projects. He died on 4 March 1979 in Berlin.

Richard Paulick had a turbulent life as an architect. He developed his first designs under the influence of the Bauhaus. As a person with strong political beliefs, he was forced to leave the country in the 1930s and did not return to Germany until 1950, when he settled in the GDR. Here his works have left their mark. In 1956 he was conferred the State Award for the reconstruction of the Staatsoper.

From Knobelsdorff to Paulick, many architects have constantly changed the opera house and adapted it to meet new challenges and functions. And that is still happening today: with considerable constructional commitment and expertise, the opera is being optimally redesigned to create ideal conditions for the public and the opera players.


The final
The refurbishment of the Staatsoper with all the measures that are now being implemented will enable the Berlin venue to join the ranks of the internationally renowned opera houses. This will not only expand the production possibilities but will also make Berlin more attractive for tourists from all over the world. Berliners will still recognise their opera house as a familiar venue with the accustomed ambiance and will be able to enjoy the stage productions with improved sightlines and acoustics.

The previous structural changes to the building, the social composition of the audience and in particular the musical performances have always been accompanied by changes in the acoustic qualities. The redesign of the Staatsoper is indeed to meet the new requirements.

The reason why the design now being implemented is so convincing is because it presents the optimum solution at the end of a discussion process. It takes into account the historic appearance but also sensitively articulates where something new has been created.


HG Merz
1947     Born in Tailfingen / Württemberg
1969–1974 Studied architecture at the Technical University Stuttgart
1981+1993 Founded practices in Stuttgart and Berlin
1993–2007 Professor for Exhibition Design / Visual Communication at Pforzheim University
Since 2008 Professor for Design and Experimental Creativity at the Technical University Darmstadt
Since 2013 Chairman of the University Council of the Bauhaus University Weimar


What do the individual building sections sound like?

The overall project encompasses 5 building sections: the opera house, which is divided into the auditorium and the fly tower, the “Intendanz” administration building, the rehearsal centre (on the site of the former “Magazin” storage building) and the underground link for moving scenery. This will enable a more efficient logistics for the Staatsoper’s repertoire operations.

The auditorium
Waterproofing has been installed here to protect against groundwater. Decorative and historically protected fittings and furnishings have been freed of diverse contaminants, carefully catalogued, and put into storage. In terms of its design, the building is returning to Richard Paulick’s design vocabulary of the 1950s.

The fly tower
Here the stage equipment was first of all disassembled and the building secured with anchors to prevent it from floating upwards. Steel sheet waterproofing, which is up to 3 cm thick, was then installed. The principle for this waterproofing comes from ship building. An expert appraiser checks every centimetre of the 7-kilometre-long weld joint to ensure that it is impermeable.

The underground link
The underground link not only enables scenery elements to be quickly transported on trolleys so that they are protected from the weather but also ensures that the various Staatsoper buildings are internally connected with one another in logistical terms. For example, the necessary technical rooms are housed in the underground link. All the supply lines, such as the electrical, heating, cooling and fire extinguishing ducts run through the underground link, which is therefore of particular importance for the Staatsoper’s technical provision. In addition, there are areas available for pre-assembling and storing stage scenery and decorations.

The administration building
Here the decorative and historically protected fittings and furnishings were freed of contaminants, carefully catalogued and put into storage. On completion of the shell construction work in the building (waterproofing, facade and window refurbishment), the repaired decorative elements will be reinstalled.

The rehearsal center
This will provide rehearsal facilities for the State Ballet, the choir and orchestra. A rehearsal space with the same dimensions as the main stage in the opera house will also be created here. This is where the Staatsoper ensemble will have their first opportunity to rehearse with the original scenery and the same stage size as in the opera house. The room can also be used as a second performance venue. The facade of the previous storage building will be reconstructed.

Acoustics and reverberation gallery
The previous auditorium achieved too little timbre and, when occupied, achieved a reverberation time that was too short. This low value was caused by two factors: firstly the ratio of the low room volume to the number of audience members, and secondly the absorption of the high frequencies. In addition, the fabric coverings in the auditorium prevented the tones from being reflected. The intention is to therefore lengthen the reverberation time and thus improve the sound. The concept developed by the acousticians and the architects involves raising the ceiling, whereby the auditorium volume will be increased by almost half and the reverberation time can be substantially lengthened. The auditorium ceiling will be raised by 5 metres without changing the exterior appearance of the building. This added height will create a reverberation gallery. A sound-permeable structure has been developed based on the existing lattice and diamond-shape motifs in the building.


The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has undergone continual change. As a result, the building, which has been listed as a historic monument since 1979, has a multilayered richness that is unparalleled. The modernisation will mark a further chapter in the history of the opera house. Under the supervision of the architect, HG Merz, the building has been undergoing the necessary general renovation since 2009. It is intended to improve the infrastructure in terms of the accessibility, air-conditioning, safety and fire protection, whereby the outer structure will be preserved and sensitively restored. In the interior space, conservation decisions will be made that achieve a balance between the requirements of a modern theatre venue and historic preservation interests. The auditorium is being restored from the front stalls to the gallery, and the colour scheme from 1955 is being recreated. Subsequent layers of paint will be removed, revealing the complete work of the architect Richard Paulick. Above the circles and gallery, the historic auditorium ceiling will be raised. As the new termination above the existing building fabric, a cornice will be created that develops out of the existing entablature.

Barrier-free access will be achieved in the public parts of the building.