23 August 2020 | Matinee with Andreas Schager, Lidia Baich and Klaus Saalmann
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This summer you were offered another special highlight: Our board of trustees member and long-standing association member Holger Röder and Sonja Fuhrmann invited you to a musical matinee in support of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main on August 23, 2020. Heldentenor Andreas Schager, exceptional violinist Lidia Baich and pianist Klaus Sallmann performed selected works by Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Strauss.
Watch now | Musical greeting by the Staatskapelle Berlin before the summer break
As a thank you for your continued commitment to the Friends and Supporters of the Staatsoper, the Staatskapelle Berlin has recorded an exclusive musical greeting for you before the summer break. The link to this recording of the "Kegelstatt-Trio" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is available here:
13 July 2020 | Visit of the Beethoven exhibition at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
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On July 13, 2020, we invited you to a joint visit to the Beethoven exhibition in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, which we had actually planned to visit on the FESTTAGE 2020. Exclusively for you as a member of the Friends and Supporters of the Staatsoper, the Staatsbibliothek at Unter den Linden opened its doors to us on this Monday. On this day you had the opportunity to visit the exhibition on the occasion of the Beethoven Year 2020 individually and to have a look at the unique autographs of the Beethoven Collection.
27 June 2020 | Open-air charity summer evening at the Villa Jacobs
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On 27 June 2020 Marianne and Stefan Ludes once again invited our members of the membership levels donors, patrons and master builders to an open air charity summer evening in the Villa Jacobs. With the annual evening in the Villa Jacobs, which has become a tradition in the meantime, Mrs. and Mr. Ludes have set a sign that music and art can and will continue despite Corona. The donations will go to the children's opera orchestra and the children's opera house Berlin. We would like to thank them for their active support!
The string quartet of the opera children's orchestra played that evening. Afterwards you had the opportunity to experience wonderful arias and duets from operas from Mozart to Puccini with soprano Evelin Novak, baritone Gyula Orendt and the string trio of the Staatskapelle Berlin. Afterwards Marianne and Stefan Ludes invited to dinner in a picturesque atmosphere in the rose-decorated garden. We would like to thank you for this wonderful evening together with Marianne and Stefan Ludes, Matthias Schulz and the Friends of the State Opera!
12 June 2020 | Digital meeting of the Young Friends with dramaturge Dr. Detlef Giese
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On 12 June 2020 at 6 pm, Dr. Detlef Giese, head of the dramaturgy at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, was our guest. He introduced us to the current online concert programme and gave us an exclusive insight into his daily business at the Staatsoper. So anyone who has always wanted to know how a programme is actually produced, what artistic highlights await us in the coming season, perhaps wondering what a dramaturge is up to all day long and/or simply wanted to see the Young Friends again, was in for a treat at this event.
Afterwards at 7 pm there was the opportunity to watch the wonderful digital concert programme, on 12 June 2020 with a very special line-up! Members of the Staatskapelle Berlin performed Camille Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals, actor Jan Josef Liefers performed, Polina Semionova danced the swan and Thomas Guggeis and Daniel Barenboim could be heard at the piano.
17 May 2020 | Digital ZwischenTöne with baritone Michael Volle
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It was a special pleasure for us to continue this year's ZwischenTöne series with baritone Michael Volle. Especially in times when we have to do without the opera at the Staatsoper, we wanted to invite you to continue the look behind the scenes of the opera world with us! In an exclusive conversation on the internet platform Zoom, baritone Michael Volle has given us an exciting insight into his Ouevre. His most recent performances at the Staatsoper were in »Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor« and »Samson et Dalila«.
Insta-Live with Anita Rachvelishvili on the Instagram account of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Anita Rachvelishvili has made up for the previous ZwischenTöne, which we had planned on the occasion of the revival of »Carmen« and which unfortunately could not take place as planned in mid-March at the Hotel Adlon-Kempinski, in English language from Georgia on the Instagram account of the State Opera. On @staatsoperberlin you can watch this wonderful and remarkable hour with the mezzo-soprano also after the event.
Cancelled − 16 March 2020 | ZwischenTöne with Anita Rachvelishvili, Michael Fabiano und Christiane Karg
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The ZwischenTöne with Anita Rachvelishvili, Michael Fabiano and Christiane Karg on the occasion of the revival of »Carmen« at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden was scheduled for 16 March 2020 and was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The production of »Carmen« by Martin Kušej was last performed at the Staatsoper before the renovation.
The interview was to be conducted by Jana Beckmann, dramaturge at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Radio presenter Claudia Hamboch would have undertaken the live translation from English. The approximately one-hour conversation should have been followed by a dinner together.
11 February 2020 | ZwischenTöne with Soprano Nadine Sierra
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It was a special pleasure for us to start the ZwischenTöne series in 2020 with Nadine Sierra. The exceptional young soprano was most recently seen in the revival of »Falstaff« in the role of Nannetta and in the premiere of »Der Rosenkavalier« as Sophie at the State Opera.
Florida-born soprano Nadine Sierra discovered her passion for music at an early age. She gained her first stage experience as a teenager at Palm Beach Opera and studied singing at Mannes College of the New School for Music in New York. In the current season she is making her debut in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's »La Traviata« at the Teatro Real in Madrid and will be heard as Juliette in Charles Gounod's »Roméo et Juliette« at the San Francisco Opera and the Opéra National de Bordeaux, as Susanna in W. A. A. Mozart's »Le Nozze di Figaro« at the Metropolitan Opera and as Lucia in »Lucia die Lammermoor« by Caetano Donizetti at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
In 2017 she received the Richard Tucker Award, in 2018 the Beverly Sills Artist Award of the Metropolitan Opera and last year she was awarded the OPUS Klassik Prize in the category »Young Artist Singing«. We were very pleased that Nadine Sierra in conversation with dramaturg Roman Reeger gave us exclusive insights into her everyday life. The live translation from English was provided by radio presenter Claudia Hamboch.
9 February 2020 | Opening of the exhibition Xenia Hausner »This will have been another happy day!«
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On the occasion of the new production of Richard Strauss' »Der Rosenkavalier«, the Austrian painter and stage designer of the production, Xenia Hausner, showed painterly works as well as, among other things, stage sketches and models in an exhibition at Deutsche Bank's PalaisPopulaire from February 10 to March 2, 2020. We were very pleased to celebrate the opening of the exhibition together with you and in the presence of the artist. You were cordially invited to join us for a glass of sparkling wine and snacks before your visit to the premiere.
At the center of Hausner's colorful paintings are relationships between couples, which refer to the emotional chaos in the »Rosenkavalier«. Self-determined, thoughtful women create a female cosmos in which conventional attributes such as young and old, female and male lose themselves in front of the modern world view of the »Rosenkavalier«, so that gender-specific behaviour and conventional orders become fragile. In addition to ten large-format paintings by Xenia Hausner, the show featured her stage design sketches, objects, associative material and model parts as well as figurines by costume designer Arthur Arbesser.
A cooperation of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the PalaisPopulaire, sponsored by Egon Zehnder.
22 and 24 January 2020 | Guided tour in the Museum Barberini through the exhibition »Van Gogh. Still Lifes«
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Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Still Life with a Plate of Onions, 1889
In January the Barberini Museum celebrated its third birthday! On Wednesday 22 January 2020 and Friday 24 January, we took the opportunity to offer you a guided tour of the exhibition Van Gogh. Still Lifes.
During the single decade he was active as a painter from 1881 until his death in 1890, van Gogh executed over 170 still lifes. As a genre, still life was a rewarding gateway into painting as it offered him a framework to experiment with painterly techniques and options. The paintings reflect his reponse to impressionism, which van Gogh witnessed first-hand in Paris between 1886 and 1888, but also the influence of colour woodcuts from Japan. The still lifes describe his journey towards an ever freer, more intensive use of paint.
The exhibition Van Gogh: Still Lifes has been organized by Dr Michael Philipp, Chief Curator at the Museum Barberini. Overall, it presented 27 of these paintings in a representative selection, illustrating the painter’s artistic evolution. It traced the œuvre from the studies in sombre, earthy tones painted during van Gogh’s early period between 1881 and 1885 to the still lifes with brightly coloured fruit and flowers that he produced during his last years in Arles, Saint-Rémy, and Auvers.
10 November 2019 | Sunday open for sale at Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann
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On this Sunday, the Staatskapelle Berlin, which will celebrate its 450th birthday next year, presented itself to you at various locations in the house. This afternoon you could experience colourful programmes in a wide variety of line-ups and enjoyed your shopping while listening to music and singing.
The numerous education projects of the orchestra and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, such as the Orchestra Academy, the Opera Children's Orchestra or the Children's Concerts, also presented themselves and their outstanding talents. Meanwhile, the children's book department on the second floor invited you to participate. In addition, you had the opportunity to purchase tickets for selected events at discounted prices.
We donate the entire daily turnover to the Staatskapelle Berlin in its anniversary year.
31 OCTOBER 2019 | Members' Concert
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After arriving in the neighborhood Unter den Linden, shaped by Friedrich II, we take this as the occasion for a very special cooperation: Together with the Museum Association of the German Historical Museum, we cordially invite you to this year's members’ concert.
In the days of Henry Purcell it was common practice to welcome the royal family with a »Welcome« Ode when they arrived at the residence. Magnificent and sonorous, full of verve and optimism, these compositions for singers and a colourful instrumental ensemble were ideally suited to welcome the audience to the Zeughaushof. New and already established members of the Opera Studio and the Orchestra Academy sang and performed this evening. In addition to music by the famous »Orpheus Britannicus« Purcell, »Les Illuminations« by Benjamin Britten was heard, who in the 20th century felt himself to be one of the continuers of the great traditions of English Renaissance and Baroque music - with his very own accents and individual tonal language. On this evening, you could experience the impressive atmosphere of the Zeughaushof. Thomas Guggeis conducted the rarely performed works of Purcell and Britten. At the following reception, you met familiar and new faces of the art and culture scene.
Thanks to the commitment of the artists and the support of the Berliner Sparkasse, the concert was free of charge. Donations amounting to over 6,000 euros were raised for the benefit of the Orchestra Academy.
12 SEPTEMBER 2019 | »RING-DINNER« FOR MASTER BUILDERS, PATRONS AND DONORS
A real magnet for music enthusiasts from all over the world is the revival of DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN at the Staatsoper Berlin with Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin. We celebrated this event on the invitation of the Berliner Sparkasse with a benefit evening in the Max Liebermann House at the Brandenburg Gate. Even though guest of honour Michael Volle, one of the best baritones of our time, had to cancel at short notice, the guests were able to enjoy an entertaining and wonderful musical evening thanks to the spontaneous performance of Serena Sáenz Molinero and Linard Vrielink from the International Opera Studio Darya Varlamova from the Orchestra Academy.
The formation of young musicians in the Orchestra Academy ensures that the unique sound of the Staatskapelle Berlin is passed on to the next generation. The support of the academics is a matter close to our hearts. That is why the evening's donations of over 35,000 euros will go towards helping the promising young talents. A big thank you goes to our host Berliner Sparkasse, guests and donors!
31 AUGUST 2019 | FESTIVE OPENING OF THE SEASON 2019/20
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden invited to the new season − for the first time with a big opening party Unter den Linden. The Staatskapelle Berlin and the Staatsopernchor, the ensemble members as well as the entire technical, costume, make-up & co. staff were delighted to welcome numerous curious visitors. At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, in the director's building and rehearsal centre and on the Grüner Bebelplatz right next door, music could be heard and performed.
17 AUGUST 2019 | WALDBÜHNE CONCERT WITH THE WEST-EASTERN DIVAN ORCHESTRA
For its 20th anniversary, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim returned to Berlin's Waldbühne. Founded by Maestro Barenboim and Edward W. Said, the ensemble has not only become a world-renowned top orchestra, but also an important symbol of the peaceful coexistence of different cultures. The Waldbühnen Concert 2019 formed the musical prelude to the Beethoven Year 2020, and the music of the jubilarian determined the entire programme: With Michael Barenboim as soloist, the overture to »Egmont« as well as Beethoven's violin concerto and his 7th symphony were performed in front of an impressive natural backdrop.