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The new production of Puccini’s opera “La Fanciulla del West” at Staatsoper Berlin is giving us some real Wild Wild West vibes. What a piece to start the season with after this endless lockdown! The premiere on Sunday, June 13th, is actually already sold out, but because the demand was expected to be high after such a long time with closed stages, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden together with their long-term sponsor BMW came up with the idea of creating a drive-in cinema experience where viewers can enjoy a live stream of the premiere from the comfort of their car. As a special treat, we are giving away 5 tickets for the spectacle!
When you read the synopsis of “La Fanciulla del West” you probably ask yourself, wait, how is this supposed to be an Italian opera from the one and only Puccini? It goes a little something like that: “California, at the heyday of the Gold Rush: the place of people’s dreams turns out to be an inexorable wasteland, governed by the law of the jungle. Minnie’s bar is the only place where people live in peaceful coexistence. It is revered by gold seekers and fiercely presided over by the gruff Sheriff Rance. But when Minnie falls in love with a stranger who turns out to be the notorious bandit Johnson, the fragile community is turned upside down.”
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by Frank | Theater
Jiyoon Lee – the first female concert master of Staatskapelle Berlin.
The life of a classical musician is formed by a pathway of hard work and sacrifice just to get a place in a great orchestra. But becoming an orchestra musician is neither about fame nor about becoming rich. It is really just about the privilege to create unique music for your audience. A work of art that only can exist through the power of the ensemble. Through the organic interfering of the different instruments to one voice, to one sound.
This sound had to stop for the last six months. Orchestras like many other artistic ensembles could not perform in public to keep each other and the audience safe from possible infections. Despite all hardships, one orchestra kept their spirit alive like no other.
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by Claudio | Music, Videos
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The contemporary Opera “Violetter Schnee” (Purple Snow) is a unique masterpiece of enigmatic music and elaborate storytelling. Together with the Staatsoper, we offer a unique opportunity to see this Opera and bring a friend for free.
Imagine the following scenario: The world covered in thick snow that devastates the land and brings no hope for future generations. In this nightmare, the audience of Staatsoper’s new Opera Violetter Schnee meets 5 people trapped in a bunker under the earth. While above them the world is falling apart the two rich couples Peter and Silvia and Jan and Natascha are tearing each other apart with contradictory ideas on what to do with this surreal situation. The fifth protagonist is Jacques who recently lost his wife. To him, the world has no meaning and so he looks in the deepest fogs of the remains of the world for the voice of his lost wife.
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by Claudio | Theater
Together with Staatsoper Unter den Linden we have again the honor to invite you and your friends to a unique Cocktail & Movie Night. On the 6th of November, we will first host a cocktail reception at the Kantine of the opera and then show the unique Argentinian movie “Wild Tales” by Damián Szifron at the Alter Orchesterprobensaal.
Wild Tales is putting all the Argentinian spirit for love, sex, violence, and absurdity in six short episodes that reunite in one extremely hilarious plot. No wonder the movie was internationally acclaimed by the critics and the audience. Now nearly four years after Wild Tales was nominated for the Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Language Movie, the director Damián Szifron is making his opera debut here in Berlin at the Staatsoper with his version of Samson et Dalila which premieres on the 24th of November.
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by Claudio | Movies, Theater
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How does the Apocalypse taste? What would you like to drink on the last night before the world ended? Maybe your choice would be Champagne? Or would it be a refined cocktail with a wildflower swimming in it?
The newest production Violetter Schnee by Staatsoper Unter den Linden is all about the end of the world. Five people are trapped inside a bunker and when they leave it to see if the world is alright they discover they are doomed forever.
The opera is inspired by the cult movie Solaris from Andrei Tarkowski where 3 men float in space around an enigmatic planet called Solaris. Since this movie from the 70s is rarely shown in public, together with Staatsoper we decided to create a unique night to present this nostalgic piece of cinematic art.
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by Claudio | Movies, Photos, Theater
»Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.« ― Stanisław Lem, Solaris
For many years now Berlin has opened new doors and possibilities to us as a magazine. Some collaborations where coincidences, others grew over time and space and became something as real and important as the digital work we do.
Since the re-opening of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden after its decade-long renovations, we had the pleasure to collaborate with the team of Staatsoper in several projects so far – always with the goal to open up doors and minds for new audiences to the magic of Opera, classical music and dance.
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by Claudio | Events, Movies
photo: Martin Argyroglo
During the month of October, the melodies of the iconic French composer Claude Debussy will blend with the lines of one of the emblematic American writer Edgar Allan Poe at the Staatsoper Berlin.
Usher is an unmissable music piece taken from Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, which greatly fascinated Debussy. However, the composer never managed to complete writing the opera. Treasuring its left behind materials on this project, the Belgian composer Annelies Van Parys, who has established her reputation as one of the most innovative contemporary composers, managed to complete his project and developed a fascinating chamber opera.
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by Giulio | Theater
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This year’s early and glorious summer is not only offering the most relaxed weekends at the lakes but also lots of amazing cultural activities you can experience under the open sky.
One of our absolute favorite classical music happenings in Berlin is Staatsoper für Alle. The opera house right at Under den Linden has recently reopened and is organizing once a year a weekend of free concerts and opera screenings.
For this year’s edition, we partnered up with Staatsoper to offer you an amazing price: We will organize a delicious exclusive picnic at the event with lots of delicious treats (and sparkling wine ;)) for 3×2 of our readers. So you can listen to the concert on Saturday 16th and enjoy a delightful brunch with us.
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by Claudio | Events, Music
Proving once again that it’s the most forward thinking of the three Berlin Opera houses, the Komische Oper recently premiered the unique piece Satyagraha by Philip Glass.
This avant-garde opera from the 80s is all about the life of Mahatma Gandhi. For me Gandhi is one of the most controversial public figures of the last century. On the one hand being partly a leader in bringing peace, human rights and freedom to India, on the other hand also making many misogynist and racist statements that from today’s perspective are totally unacceptable.
Philip Glass’ piece of musical theater – is many things: a theater of ideas, a multimedia work of historic art, a political statement and an attempt to unite spiritual inwardness with modern enlightenment through artistic ritual. That is why this piece is not only a must-see for its music but also for the unique combination of dance and stage design. All shows this year are completely sold out. Therefore our dear readers are quite lucky that we are giving away 1×2 of the last available tickets for the show on the 5th of November 2017.
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by Claudio | Theater
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.
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by Claudio | Music, Photos, Theater
