200th Anniversary of the State Opera Choir
Together with the Staatskapelle Berlin and under the musical direction of General Music Director Daniel Barenboim, the State Opera Choir performed at a gala concert at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden on December 13. Chamber singer Waltraud Meier, who appeared on stage for the first time with the State Opera Choir at Wagner's Parsifal in 1992 and has been closely associated with the ensemble since then, made the celebratory speech.
The program included works by Joseph Haydn, Luca Francesconi, Franz Schubert, and Anton Bruckner. With his last symphony, No. 104 in D major, premiered in London in 1795, Haydn marked the impressive end of his symphonic work. Francesconi's large orchestral work “Dentro non ha tempo” from 2014 is a commemorative composition for Luciana Abbado Pestalozza, the committed patron of new music in Italy. After the first performance of the German version of his opera "Quartet" in autumn 2020, Francesconi's music was again presented to the Berlin audience. The State Opera Choir was involved in two works: first with a smaller cast in Schubert's "Gesang der Geister über den Wassern", a Goethe setting from 1821, then at the end of the concert in full with Bruckner's "Te Deum", the central choral symphonic work of his later years. Composed in the context of his symphonies nos. 6 and 7 in the early and mid-1880s, it is a haunting testimony to Bruckner's compositional art with its sonorous splendor and monumentality, but also with its internalized, expressive tones. Elza van den Heever, Anna Kissjudit, Siyabonga Maqungo, and Jan Martiník formed the soloist quartet in this work, in which the choir comes into its own and which was selected to celebrate the choir jubilee.
Matthias Schulz: “Almost every evening, the more than 80 singers of the State Opera Choir merge on the stage to form a well-rehearsed unit and slip into a wide variety of roles. This collective was hit particularly hard during the pandemic - for a long time it was not possible to sing in a group. We have all become painfully aware of what is missing when the great choir operas - with all their force and emotionality - cannot perform. It's been 200 years since our State Opera Choir was founded and since then it has been a mainstay of our institution.”
Daniel Barenboim: “Of the 200 years of its existence, I have at least 30 years together with the State Opera Choir - extremely happy musical years. During this time we have performed countless works together, both on the opera stage and on the concert stage, from the classical-romantic repertoire, to the classical modern, to contemporary music theater. I warmly congratulate the 84 singers in the choir on this milestone birthday and look forward to many more musical hours.”
Photo by Peter Adamik
Choir director Martin Wright: “This choir is well known for its tradition, its pride, its energy and expressiveness. In the opera the chorus is always a representation of humanity - the chorus of the Staatsoper is humanity in its variety of nationality, age, interests, and personality and when they sing together they become one physical instrument. It is an honor to be their choir director, especially in this historic anniversary year. Happy Birthday!"
It is 200 years ago that a professional choir consisting of professional singers was involved in the performances for the first time at the Berlin Court Opera. This anniversary is a reason to celebrate, for the members of the choir and their choir director Martin Wright as well as for the Staatsoper as a whole and the audience. After the choir was the focus of the opening festival and Staatsoper for All, the festival concerts in December again focus on this special anniversary. The State Opera Choir will also be in concert during the rest of the season, with performances of Robert Schumann's “Das Paradies und die Peri” op. 50 under Simon Rattle as well as at the “Mass in C minor” KV 427 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with honorary conductor Zubin Mehta. In addition, the State Opera Choir can be seen on the opera stage on many evenings - in December with LA BOHÈME, SAMSON ET DALILA and DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, which will be performed for the 300th time on December 23rd in a production by August Everding at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
The choir of the State Opera is one of the leading opera choirs in Germany and Europe. The ensemble has been closely associated with the Unter den Linden opera house since it was founded in 1821 when Weber's »Freischütz« and Spontini's »Olimpia« were premiered. The choir is dedicated to cultivating the great operatic repertoire as well as choral symphonic works, mostly together with the Staatskapelle Berlin, most recently including performances of Rossini's “Petite Messe solennelle”, Haydn's “The Creation”, Elgar's “The Dream of Gerontius”, Brahms’s “A German Requiem” and Britten's“ War Requiem ”. The choir regularly gives testimony to its stylistic flexibility, which is reflected in its wide-ranging repertoire of four centuries - from works of the Baroque to the classics of opera literature such as Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and Puccini to contemporary compositions. Numerous recordings under Daniel Barenboim document the high artistic standing of the State Opera Choir. From 1998 to 2013, Eberhard Friedrich headed the State Opera Choir. Under his direction, the choir was named “Choir of the Year” by the magazine “Opernwelt” in 2004 and the European Choir Prize in 2009. At the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Martin Wright was appointed as the new choir director. Under his direction, the choir has impressed with Wagner's great operas and musical dramas, in Beethoven's “Fidelio”, Berlioz's “La damnation de Faust”, Verdi's “Macbeth”, Cherubini's “Medea”, Purcell's “King Arthur”, Rameau's “Hippolyte et Aricie”, Saint-Saens's "Samson et Dalila" and in the world premiere of the new version of Widmann's "Babylon".