The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
company located in the
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest
opera house (after
Munich's) and also home to the
Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, like the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (
Berlin State Opera), the
Komische Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation.
History
The company's history goes back to the ''Deutsches Opernhaus'' built by the then independent city of Charlottenburg—the "richest town of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
"—according to plans designed by
Heinrich Seeling from 1911. It opened on 7 November 1912 with a performance of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's ''
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...
'', conducted by
Ignatz Waghalter. In 1925, after the incorporation of Charlottenburg by the 1920
Greater Berlin Act, the name of the resident building was changed to ''Städtische Oper'' (Municipal Opera).

With the Nazi
seizure of power in 1933, the opera was under control of the Reich
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Minister
Joseph Goebbels had the name changed back to ''Deutsches Opernhaus'', competing with the
Berlin State Opera in
Mitte
Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding.
It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...
controlled by his rival, the
Prussian minister-president
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
. In 1935, the building was remodeled by
Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2,300 to 2,098 places.
Carl Ebert, the pre-World War II general manager, chose to emigrate from Germany rather than endorse the Nazi view of music, and went on to co-found the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He was replaced by
Max von Schillings, who acceded to demands that he enact works of "unalloyed German character". Several artists, like the conductor
Fritz Stiedry and the singer
Alexander Kipnis, followed Ebert into emigration. The opera house was destroyed by a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
air raid on 23 November 1943. Performances continued at the
Admiralspalast in Mitte until 1945. Ebert returned to serve as general manager after the war.
After the war, in what had now been called
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, the company, again called ''Städtische Oper'', used the nearby
Theater des Westens; its opening production was ''Fidelio'', on 4 September 1945. Its home was finally rebuilt in 1961 but to a much-changed, sober design by
Fritz Bornemann. The opening production of the newly renamed ''Deutsche Oper'', on 24 September, was Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
''.

On the evening of 2 June 1967,
Benno Ohnesorg, a student taking part in the
German student movement, was shot in the streets around the opera house. He had been protesting against the visit to Germany by the
Shah of Iran
The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 7th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian king is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty () ...
, who was attending a performance of Mozart's ''
The Magic Flute''.
Past ''
Generalmusikdirektor
A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
en'' (GMD, general music directors) have included
Bruno Walter,
Kurt Adler,
Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.
Biography
Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ern ...
,
Lorin Maazel,
Gerd Albrecht,
Jesús López-Cobos,
Giuseppe Sinopoli, and
Christian Thielemann. In April 2001, Sinopoli died at the podium while conducting ''
Aida'', at age 54. In October 2005,
Renato Palumbo was appointed GMD as of the 2006–2007 season. In October 2007, the Deutsche Oper announced the appointment of
Donald Runnicles as their next ''Generalmusikdirektor'', effective August 2009, for an initial contract of five years. Simultaneously, Palumbo and the Deutsche Oper mutually agreed to terminate his contract, effective November 2007. In November 2020, the company announced the most recent extension of Runnicles' contract as its GMD, through 2027.
In September 2023, the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced that Runnicles is to stand down as its GMD at the close of the 2025-2026 season, one season earlier than his most recent contract extension, at Runnicles' own request.
The current ''Intendant'' (artistic director) of the company is Dietmar Schwarz, and his current contract with the company is through 31 July 2025.
The current executive director of the company is Thomas Fehrle, who is currently contracted with the company through 2027.
In February 2023, the company announced the appointment of Aviel Cahn as its next ''Intendant'', effective 1 August 2026.
Idomeneo controversy
In September 2006, the Deutsche Oper's then-''
Intendantin'' (general manager)
Kirsten Harms drew criticism after she cancelled the production of Mozart's opera ''
Idomeneo'' by
Hans Neuenfels, because of fears that a scene in that production featuring the severed heads of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
,
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
and
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
would offend
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s, and that the opera house's security might come under threat if violent protests took place. (This is a departure from the original
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
, in which there is no such scene.) Critics of the decision include German
Ministers and the
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The reaction from Muslims was mixed. The leader of Germany's Islamic Council welcomed the decision, whilst a leader of Germany's Turkish community, criticising the decision, said:
: "This is about art, not about politics ... We should not make art dependent on religion – then we are back in the Middle Ages."
At the end of October 2006, the opera house announced that performances of Mozart's opera ''Idomeneo'' would then proceed.
Premieres
Städtische Oper Berlin
* 1923:
Emil von Reznicek, Carl Meinhard,
Rudolf Bernauer: ''
Holofernes''
* 1932:
Franz Schreker: ''
Der Schmied von Gent''
* 1932:
Kurt Weill,
Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher (born Rudolf Ludwig Caspar Neher; 11 April 1897 – 30 June 1962) was an Austrian-German scenographer and Libretto, librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht.
Neher was born in Augs ...
: ''
Die Bürgschaft''
Städtisches Opernhaus Berlin
* 1952:
Boris Blacher: ''
Preußisches Märchen''
Deutsche Oper Berlin
* 1961:
Giselher Klebe: ''
Alkmene''
* 1964:
Roger Sessions,
Giuseppe Antonio Borgese: ''
Montezuma''
* 1965:
Hans Werner Henze: ''
Der junge Lord'', (libretto:
Ingeborg Bachmann)
* 1966:
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati: ''
Amerika''
* 1968:
Luigi Dallapiccola: ''
Ulisse''
* 1969:
Boris Blacher: ''
200 000 Taler''
* 1970:
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
, : ''Die Vogelscheuchen'' (ballet)
* 1972:
Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, academic composition teacher and conductor.
Life and career
Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense ...
, Matthias Braun: ''Elisabeth Tudor''
* 1979:
Wilhelm Dieter Siebert, ''Untergang der Titanic''
"Siebert, Wilhelm Dieter – ''Untergang der Titanic'' (1979)"
work details, Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...
* 1981: Mauricio Kagel: ''Aus Deutschland''
* 1987: Wolfgang Rihm: '' Oedipus''
* 1987: : ''Lichtknall''
* 1988: Marc Neikrug: ''Los Alamos''
* 1990: Hans Werner Henze: '' Das verratene Meer'', (libretto: Hans-Ulrich Treichel)
* 1992: Aribert Reimann: '' Das Schloß'', (based on Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
's novel of the same name)
* 2005: Isabel Mundry: ''Ein Atemzug – Odyssee''
* 2008: Walter Braunfels: '' Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna'' (scenic premiere)
* 2017: Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini: ''Edward II''
* 2017: Aribert Reimann: ''L'invisible'', (''Trilogie lyrique'' after Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...
)
''Intendanten'' (General Managers)
* Georg Hartmann (1912–1923)
* Wilhelm Holthoff von Faßmann (1923–1925)
* Heinz Tietjen (1925–1931)
* Carl Ebert (1931–1933)
* Max von Schillings (1933)
* Wilhelm Rode (1934–1943)
* Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1943–1944)
* Michael Bohnen (1945–1947)
* Heinz Tietjen (1948–1954)
* Carl Ebert (1954–1961)
* Rudolf Sellner (1961–1972)
* Egon Seefehlner (1972–1976)
* Siegfried Palm (1976–1981)
* Götz Friedrich (1981–2000)
* André Schmitz (interim, 2000–2001)
* Udo Zimmermann (2001–2003)
* Heinz Dieter Sense / Peter Sauerbaum (interim, 2003–2004)
* Kirsten Harms (2004–2011)
* Christoph Seuferle (interim, 2011–2012)
* Dietmar Schwarz (2012–present)
''Generalmusikdirektoren'' (Music Directors)
* Ignatz Waghalter (1912–1923)
* Bruno Walter (1925–1929)
* Kurt Adler, resident conductor (1932–1933)
* Artur Rother (1935–1943, 1953–1958)
* Karl Dammer (1937–1943)
* Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.
Biography
Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ern ...
(1949–1952)
* (1954–1961)
* Heinrich Hollreiser, chief conductor (1961–1964)
* Lorin Maazel (1965–1971)
* Gerd Albrecht, resident conductor (1972–1974)
* Jesús López Cobos (1981–1990)
* Giuseppe Sinopoli (1990)
* Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1992–1997)
* Christian Thielemann (1997–2004)
* (2006–2008)
* Sir Donald Runnicles (2009–present)
References
External links
*
Interview with Deutsche Oper musical director Donald Runnicles in Exberliner Magazine
{{Authority control
Music in Berlin
German opera companies
Theatres in Berlin
Opera houses in Germany
Buildings and structures in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Ballet venues
Buildings and structures in Mitte