Komische Oper Berlin

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The Komische Oper on Behrenstrasse in Berlin-Mitte

The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera house in the Behrenstraße in Berlin district center of the district of the same . It is the smallest of the three Berlin opera houses and, together with the Deutsche Oper , the Staatsoper Unter den Linden , the Staatsballett Berlin and the Bühnenservice Berlin, is part of the Opera Foundation in Berlin .

A special feature of the building is the simply designed facade, the modern foyer and the likewise modern foyer from the years of the reconstruction of the 1960s, which stand in stark contrast to the neo-baroque interior, which was largely undamaged during the Second World War .

History of the Komische Oper

Entrance to the Komische Oper

1892 to 1944: The Metropol Theater

The Viennese architects Hermann Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner ( Fellner & Helmer office ) built the theater in 1892, in which the Unter den Linden theater initially played. From 1898 the Metropol-Theater was located here ; it was known before the First World War for its famous Metropol revues and after 1918 as an operetta theater . The Metropol Theater was closed in 1933, but reopened in 1934 by the Nazi organization “ Kraft durch Freude ” ( Kraft through Joy ) and served, for example, the world premiere of the operetta Mask in Blue by Fred Raymond or Frauen im Metropol by Ludwig Schmidseder . Shortly before the end of the Second World War , large parts of the building as well as the entrance area and the ceiling painting were completely destroyed. The auditorium remained almost undamaged.

1947 until today: Komische Oper Berlin

Grand staircase in the opera
Interior of the Komische Oper
Interior of the Komische Oper

In 1947, with the founding of the Komische Oper Berlin by the Austrian director Walter Felsenstein and the opening on December 19 with Johann Strauss and his operetta Die Fledermaus, a new chapter in the history of the building began. With the work of Walter Felsenstein, who was the artistic director and chief director of the house until his death in 1975, the Komische Oper Berlin achieved worldwide recognition as the birthplace of modern music theater.

Some of the director's productions enjoy almost legendary fame today, such as Hoffmann's Tales and Knight Bluebeard by Jacques Offenbach and Verdi's La traviata . A completely new ensemble was founded and an orchestra was rebuilt by the conductor Leo Spies . The well-known conductors who led the Komische Oper Orchestra, founded in 1947 under Leo Spies, included Otto Klemperer , Václav Neumann , Rolf Reuter and Kurt Masur . As dramaturges worked at the Komische Oper a. a. Götz Friedrich (also director), Siegfried Matthus , Horst Seeger and Hermann Neef .

In 1965 and 1966 the house was extensively modernized. The facade was redesigned according to plans by the architect Kunz Nierade , and the new functional building was created. The house was on 4 December 1966, Mozart's Don Giovanni in the staging reopened by Walter Felsenstein. The Komische Oper now has a capacity of 1190 seats.

In the 2002/2003 season, museum in progress played on the iron curtain of the Komische Oper Berlin as a living museum space with the large picture (90 m²) Looking Back by the Norwegian artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset . In 2005/2006 the foyer of the opera was rebuilt according to the plans of the architect Stephan Braunfels .

After the death of the founder of the Komische Oper, his student Joachim Herz was director and chief director of the traditional company from 1976 to 1980. In 1981 Werner Rackwitz became artistic director and Harry Kupfer became chief director. 1994 to 2004 Albert Kost took over the post of artistic director.

Harry Kupfer was replaced by Andreas Homoki as chief director in 2002 . In 2004 Homoki took over the office of artistic director and chief director. Barrie Kosky is the artistic director and chief director of the Komische Oper from 2012 until probably summer 2022 . For the expected five interim seasons in which the Komische Oper will be completely refurbished and will have to move to other venues, the administrative director Susanne Moser and opera director Philip Bröking will represent the theater as dual leaders from the 2022/23 season.

General music directors were Kurt Masur from 1960 to 1964 , Rolf Reuter from 1981 to 1993 , Yakov Kreizberg from 1994 to 2002 , Kirill Petrenko from 2002 to 2007 , Carl St. Clair from 2008 to 2010 and Patrick Lange from 2010 to 2012 . Henrik Nánási has been General Music Director of the Komische Oper since 2012 . His successor will be the Latvian conductor Ainārs Rubiķis (* 1978) at the beginning of the 2018/19 season.

The Komische Oper Berlin was named “Opera House of the Year” in 2007 and 2013 by the specialist magazine Opernwelt, and the choir soloists in 2007 and 2015 as “Choir of the Year”.

The opera house received the International Opera Award in 2015 .

Litigation about the building

A subsidiary of Swedish Match acquired the property in 1936. This company moved its headquarters from Berlin-Charlottenburg to West Germany after the Second World War. The Magistrate of Greater Berlin placed the property under state administration . After the German reunification , the aforementioned subsidiary of the Swedish group applied for the state administration to be abolished and sold the property to a third party. Ultimately, the company lost the legal battle against the then Federal Office for the Settlement of Open Property Issues (BARoV). The property was the subject of the agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden and the Government of the German Democratic Republic on the settlement of property issues of October 24, 1986 . With this agreement - according to the court - the applicant's parent company received flat-rate compensation of 18.8 million Swedish kronor from the Swedish government on the basis of the agreement concluded between Sweden and the GDR . This also compensated for the damage suffered by the applicant. With the conclusion of the agreement, property rights were transferred to the GDR. The Federal Constitutional Court did not accept a constitutional complaint from the plaintiff against the judgment .

According to the property regulations of the Unification Treaty , ownership was transferred to the Federal Government, which transferred the property to the State of Berlin in an exchange agreement.

ballet

The Komische Oper ballet , founded in 1966 by Tom Schilling as the “Komische Oper dance theater” and successfully directed for almost 30 years, was one of the internationally renowned companies. Numerous world premieres and premieres have given the ensemble its own artistic profile.

The outstanding and most successful choreographer was Tom Schilling. He and his librettist Bernd Köllinger led the Komische Oper dance theater to the top international and delighted audiences around the world with spectacular productions such as La Mer , Romeo and Juliet , Undine , Black Birds , A New Midsummer Night's Dream and the socially critical production Revue.

Outstanding dancers were Hannelore Bey , Jutta Germany , Roland Gawlik , Dieter Hülse, Angela Reinhardt and Gregor Seyffert .

The support of the dance ensemble by 40 amateur dancers from the “Group of Young Dancers Jean Weidt” under the direction of the dancer and resistance fighter of the same name, Jean Weidt, was unique . From the beginning, the group was an important part of all Tom Schilling's productions.

In 1994 Jan Linkens and Marc Jonkers took over the artistic direction of the dance theater. In 1999 the dance theater was renamed " BerlinBallett - Komische Oper ". After Richard Wherlock , who directed the ballet from 1999 to 2001, the Spanish Blanca Li was chief choreographer and artistic director of the group from 2001 and 2002. Afterwards Adolphe Binder was artistic director of the ballet and, with productions such as Casa and Screensaver, ensured that there were first and world premieres in the field of contemporary dance theater .

At the end of the 2003/04 season, the dance theater was closed under pressure from the Berlin Senate .

Artistic profile

The name "Komische Oper" refers to the tradition of the French opéra comique and its claim to be a modern music theater.

The Komische Oper Berlin stands for contemporary and lively musical theater, in which music and scenic action are mutually dependent. The focus is on the ensemble of singer-performers, who present themselves in a broad repertoire from Handel to the 21st century. The first seasons under Andreas Homoki's direction are an example of this, especially in the selection of the directors who work here. The “Komische Oper” opera genre provided significant impulses for the development of music theater. The Komische Oper Berlin wants to show the effect of these impulses today by presenting the entire spectrum of contemporary director's manuscripts. So directors like Calixto Bieito , Peter Konwitschny , Barrie Kosky and Hans Neuenfels could be won for the house on a long-term basis.

For a long time, the fact that all operas were performed in German was a peculiarity in the international opera industry. This basic artistic decision also goes back to Walter Felsenstein and is an expression of his striving for comprehensibility and direct impact of the theatrical event, which still affects the work of the comic to this day Oper Berlin has remained a binding guideline.

In the 2011/12 season, the Komische Oper Berlin started a new project with the aim of getting Turkish-speaking people excited about opera. Under the motto “Selam Opera!”, The Komische Oper Berlin offers an extensive educational program covering everything to do with the world of music theater. Workshops can be attended for all productions, and all performances are translated into Turkish in the translation system.

Redevelopment

A renovation of the Komische Oper is planned for the period between 2023 and 2027. In October 2019, the auditorium was protected from falling parts from the ceiling with a safety net. The Schillertheater is being discussed as an alternative location during the renovation . Template: future / in 2 yearsIn October 2020, a jury of experts headed by the architect Stefan Behnisch will select an applicant who will carry out the renovation as a general planner. The Berlin Senate is providing a total of 227 million euros for the measures.

General Music Directors

Important performances at the Komische Oper

World premieres

  • 1967: Siegfried Matthus : The last shot
  • 1972: Siegfried Matthus: Another spoonful of poison, darling
  • 1985: Siegfried Matthus: Judith
  • 1991: Georg Katzer : Antigone or the city
  • 2008: Robin Hood , commission from the Komische Oper Berlin to Frank Schwemmer , premiere: November 2nd, 2008
  • 2009: Christian Jost : Hamlet , named “World Premiere of the Year” in the critics' survey by Opernwelt magazine
  • 2010: The Snow Queen , commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin to Pierangelo Valtinoni, premiere: October 24, 2010
  • 2012: American Lulu , commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin in collaboration with The Opera Group London to Olga Neuwirth , premiere: September 30, 2012
  • 2012: Ali Baba and the 40 thieves , commission from the Komische Oper Berlin to Taner Akyol , premiere: October 28, 2012
  • 2013: The emperor's new clothes , created in 1962, long banned in Czechoslovakia Miloš Vacek , WP: October 13, 2013
  • 2015: Snow White and the 77 dwarfs , commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin to Elena Kats-Chernin , premiere: November 1st, 2015

New productions

World premieres at the Metropol Theater (1892–1944)

Awards

  • 2007: “Opera House of the Year”, together with the Bremen City Opera
  • 2007: "Choir of the Year"
  • 2013: "Opera House of the Year"
  • 2017: BKM Prize for Cultural Education for an Opera Tour. On the trail of the guest worker route

Honorary members of the Komische Oper

literature

Web links

Commons : Komische Oper Berlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Opera in Berlin
  2. ↑ Barrie Kosky on the Komische Oper website ( memento from October 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Komische Oper Berlin: Internal solution , nachtkritik.de of January 31, 2019, accessed on February 2, 2019
  4. ↑ Henrik Nánási on the Komische Oper website ( Memento from February 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Press release of the Komische Oper Berlin from May 8th 2017: Ainārs Rubiķis from 2018/19 General Music Director at the Komische Oper Berlin , accessed on June 6th 2017.
  6. ↑ On the facts cf. the judgment of the Federal Administrative Court of September 28, 1995 - 7 C 50.94, BVerwGE 99, 276.
  7. ↑ Press release of the Federal Constitutional Court No. 4/98 of January 21, 1998.
  8. ↑ The federal government and Berlin swap real estate Everyone wants to help the capital - but nobody knows how - the pressure on the federal government is growing / Senator of Finance has the legal basis for a constitutional complaint quietly examined . In: Der Tagesspiegel , June 25, 2002, accessed on November 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ Discover opera! Salem Opera! . ( Memento of November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Komische Oper Berlin, accessed on December 10, 2012
  10. ↑ Lederer: renovation not during ongoing operations. In: Berliner Morgenpost . December 4, 2017, archived from the original on November 24, 2018 .;
  11. ↑ a b Komische Oper Berlin is “Opera House of the Year” . In: Tagesspiegel , September 28, 2007
  12. ↑ Komische Oper Berlin is “Opera House of the Year” . In: Opernwelt , October 1, 2013
  13. ^ Federal government press release .

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 57 ″  N , 13 ° 23 ′ 13 ″  E