Berlin is not a city known for its love of stability and traditions. Things change rapidly, and what may be your favorite party or restaurant today could easily become dull and uninteresting tomorrow. As Berliners, we are spoiled with an infinity of options. However, there are certain events that should never be overlooked and genuinely deserve the label of “timeless.”
One of these rare gems is the annual free open-air concert, Staatsoper für Alle, which transforms Bebelplatz into a magnificent arena for classical music. Even if you haven’t been a fan of opera music in the past, attending this event may change your perspective. It’s similar to the effect of being in a stadium surrounded by devoted fans; eventually, the music will resonate with you.
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by Claudio | Music, Theater
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As Summer returns, so does one of our favorite happenings: “Staatsoper für Alle” – the annual open-air that transforms Bebelplatz Unter den Linden into an open-air arena for classical music. With free admission, live performances, and a special pop-up picnic organized by us, our readers are in for an unforgettable experience.
I guess most of our iHeartBerlin readers have been to an open-air party, a festival, or any other kind of music experience you can have beneath the summer sky. But over the years, I noticed how many see classical music as something that can only be experienced behind closed doors in big concert halls and so on. But what if one of the biggest and central public spaces in Berlin would become an open-air concert venue?
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by Claudio | Music, Theater
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Summer Season is finally back and with it comes one of our favorite events of the year. “Staatsoper für Alle” – the yearly open air classic festival that takes over Bebelplatz Unter den Linden is finally back in its full form. No tickets needed, no restrictions regarding Covid anymore and we have a special picnic pop up waiting for our readers.
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by Claudio | Music, Theater
What does opera have to do with climate change? Two events in May and June dive into the relationship between culture and climate and raise awareness for climate change. iHeartBerlin is giving away 4×2 tickets, so don’t miss this opportunity!
Climate change concerns not only science and economy but also culture and the arts. Beyond the arts, many working in the cultural industry have asked themselves: What can culture do for the climate?
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by Claudio | Music
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
Last night, three Berlin-based orchestras had planned to perform a concert at Vollgutlager in Neukölln playing the music of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 6th symphony. For reasons we are all well aware of, this could not happen, sadly. But the creative force of 70 musicians from the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, the STEGREIF.Orchester, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin can’t be stopped so easily.
They got together with 3D artist and iHeartBerlin friend Lucas Gutierrez who created a stunning virtual sound performance that sees a cluster of recordings from the 70 musicians playing their parts embedded in a futuristic world that the camera zooms into. Using 360° video technology the viewer can pan around the world freely, exploring the details and viewing the individual musicians while enjoying the concert. It’s pretty cutting-edge and probably the most impressive “digital version” of a live event of this new contact-less era. We hope to see more things like that soon!
And now let’s lean back and enjoy the music of Beethoven!
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by Frank | Music, Videos
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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
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
Heimathafen Neukölln, photo: Verena Eidel / CC
A classical concert in a non-classical setting is just about the right kind of Wow-effect for your brain. The old and the new merge perfectly, creating something that is new. Gone are the times where classical music seemed old, a bit stiff and hard to understand for anyone who is used to the very different scales of, let’s say, mainstream pop. Nowadays, classical music seems to make an Ancora or – dare I say this: was never gone.
The thing that is changing about it though is the setting in which the music vibrates. What other place than progressive Berlin would provide the right kind of locations that frame these melodies from another century in a way that only this century could. See five of the most unusual places to enjoy a classical music concert right after the jump. Read on…
by Yasmin | Music
