Classical Music & Opera in Berlin
Berlin's a city where operagoers take their seats in jeans and t-shirts. And if you're out strolling on a summer night, you might round the corner and come across a giant screen relaying La Traviata live to a crowd of thousands outside one of the three (count 'em -- no other city has this many) major opera houses. Thanks to a long history of patronage, Cold War subsidies, and East-West one-upmanship, there are no fewer than seven symphony orchestras kicking around and a lively classical schedule that would exhaust the most dedicated music lover, though not the pair of octogenarians I once saw hanging over the balcony at the Komische Oper, cheering on the orgy scene in Don Giovanni. Here's a quick roundup of the scene, although it's by no means exhaustive.
Keep an eye open for posters advertising one-off performances in special venues like churches, the cathedral, or schlosses, and use Visit Berlin's site to search for upcoming concerts. In the summer, you can catch arias in Gendarmenmarkt or the odd high-profile gig at the Waldbühne in the woods outside Berlin.
Staatsoper
Unter den Linden 7
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
If you want the full mitteleuropean opera house experience with historic architecture and the cream of musical talent, then the Staatsoper is the only venue. Designed … for Frederick the Great by Knobelsdorff in 1742, it's been rebuilt a couple of times in the 20th century, but still looks the part. Daniel Barenboim has had the run of the place since 1992, and the 2007-2008 season includes a cycle of Sunday matinees featuring the conductor and chums like Magdalena Kozená, Thomas Quasthoff, and Christine Schäfer. [link]
Piano Salon Christophori
Senefelderstraße 30
10437 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
This is something special. Piano technician Andreas Weihert organizes informal concerts in his workshop in East Berlin. Locals cram into folding chairs set out among the … guts of old pianos, piles of keys, and mahogany lids to hear young musicians perform -- there's a new line up every week. Payment is by tip jar, and there's a bar where you can help yourself. Very Berlin. [link]
Neuköllner Oper
Karl-Marx-Straße 131
12043 Neukölln, Berlin, Germany
The Neuköllner Oper, located in one of Berlin's less desirable zip codes, prides itself on being more innovative and creative than the cultural behemoths in the center … of the city and launches 10 premiers a year. Contemporary and repertoire opera share a program with jazz, musicals, children's theater, and medieval music. [link]
Konzerthausorchester
Gendarmenmarkt
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
The former Berlin Symphony Orchestra was left flailing when the city cut its funding, but it moved into permanent residence at Schinkel's Konzerthaus, changed its name, … and shored up its loyal support base of almost 16,000 subscribers. They now lay on over 100 programs a season, often mixing up old and new pieces. Musical director Lothar Zagrosek is a former protégée of von Karajan. [link]
Komische Oper Berlin
Behrenstraße 55
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Don't let the boxy, concrete DDR exterior fool you. It's only the postwar casing for an auditorium that's been restored to its 1892 glory, with more rococo gilt and red … velvet swags than you can shake a stick at. The productions here are auf Deutsch and lively -- if you think opera is all about solemn fat ladies, overpriced seats, and monumental sets, you should try their Magic Flute. [link]
Deutsches Symphonie Orchester
Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1
10785 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany
Founded with American financing in 1946, the Radio-Simphonie-Orchester Berlin was thankfully rechristened the Deutsches Symphonia Orchester in 1993 to avoid confusion … with the Rundfunk collective (keep up!). They usually operate out of the Philharmonie, and their all-new "casual concerts" are highly recommended -- they start late in the evening, are shorter, have one price for all tickets (you pick where you want to sit on arrival), and include a little patter from the conductor and artistic director Ingo Metzmacher. [link]
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Bismarckstraße 35
10627 Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany
The Deutsche Oper was only founded in 1912, but by the time it was destroyed by fire bombs in 1944, it had already weathered national economic disaster, internal power … struggles, and a take-over by the Nazi cultural agenda in the 1930s (i.e., years of stolid Brunnhildes with fat, flaxen braids). After the war, the company decamped to the Theater des Westens, but in 1961 returned to Bismarckstrasse to a clean slate and a new building. With the Staatsoper and Komische Oper marooned in the East, the DO was all the West had, and world-class talent flocked to Charlottenburg to defy the DDR. Since the Wall fell they've had some competition, but they're keeping their end up admirably. [link]
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Gendarmenmarkt
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
The Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester was founded in 1923 to fill the airwaves, and although it was unlucky to end up in the East during the Cold War, it's still got an … illustrious list of collaborators: Prokofiev, Straus, Stravinksy, Schoenberg, Zimmerman, and Maxwell-Davies are among those who have performed their work with the orchestra. The program leans towards contemporary composers, and when in town, the Orchestra tends to perform at the Philharmonie or the Konzerthaus in Gendarmenmarkt. [link]
Berlin Philharmonic
Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1
10785 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany
Usually tagged with epithets like 'world-renowned' and invariably captained by a VIP -- Furtwängler, von Karajan, Abbado, and now Sir Simon Rattle -- the orchestra is … based in Hans Scharoun's loopy-looking but acoustically impeccable Philharmonie complex. For a real treat, book in advance and go to their annual open-air production at the Waldbühne (literally "forest stage"), an amphitheater constructed for the 1936 Olympics. Tickets are cheap, and you're encouraged to take a picnic meal. [link]
