Why is public art and culture so important? Is it for our education? Prestige? Or a way to cultivate our society? Probably all these aspects are relevant. But after visiting the “Staatsoper für Alle” event this past weekend I experienced the relevance of free public art and culture first hand. On Saturday afternoon over 3000 people came together at Bebelplatz to listen to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony performed by the Staatskapelle Berlin led by Daniel Barenboim. Sharing collective cultural experiences is something that gives me intense goosebumps for many reasons. First of all, I was so impressed by this big crowd getting nearly instantly quite from one moment to another. Also it’s rare even in Berlin to see so many people from different ages and social groups come together to enjoy arts and music. Finally, I really felt the passion of the audience. These classical music enthusiasts did not show up to wear elegant gowns to the opera. But instead, they brought their own little chairs or blankets to sit on the ground. Some of them were even standing for the whole duration of the performance. This passion is for me the ultimate proof that arts and music are vital for us humans and for our human society. While young and old, poor and rich come together to enjoy the arts our difference dissolve and the pace of our heartbeats rise while experiencing this form of joy.
We saw many cute couples or groups of friends who really enjoyed the music and the performance under the sun and the blue open sky over Bebelplatz. To imagine that this historical place who had experienced some troubled history is now a place where free music is performed to give joy to the public is something magnificent. We took some photographic impressions of the event for you to get a glimpse of what you missed. But no reason to be sad. During the next days several public screenings of the concerts of the Staatsoper will happen at Bebelplatz. All the dates and photos after the jump.
Come to Bebelplatz for free live transmission of concerts from the Staatsoper in October 2017:
- The brand new opera: »Zum Augenblicke sagen: Verweile doch!« with Robert Schumann’s »Szenen aus Goethes Faust«:
- October 3rd at 20:00h – the opening premiere
- October 6th at 18:00h
- A symphonic concert of the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim with Maurizio Pollini als soloist, with works of Jörg Widmann, Claude Debussy and Robert Schumann
- October 4th at 19:30h
- The Vienna Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta with works of Johannes Brahms, Joseph Haydn and Béla Bartók
- October 7th at 18:00h
This article is a collaboration with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
