Kicking off the 22-23 Season!

On September 4th, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden celebrated the start of their new season with a free festival for all Berliners and guests of the capital.

In the Great Hall, outside on Bebelplatz, behind the church, behind the courtyard of the Intendanz building, and in the rehearsal center, visitors were invited to experience a varied program with musicians from the Staatskapelle Berlin, the State Opera Choir, soloists and members of the International Opera Studio and the Orchestra Academy, dancers from the State Ballet, and participants from the Youth State Opera. The Apollo Hall was transformed into an opera café, with catering for in the inner courtyard of the Intendanz building.

Musicians from the Staatskapelle Berlin kicked things off in the Great Hall with chamber music by Franz Schubert. Next up was an artistic program with ensemble soloists on the main stage, in which the singers performed highlights from operas by Claudio Monteverdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Georges Bizet, and Giacomo Puccini as well as songs by Edvard Grieg and Leoš Janáček. Evelin Novak, Marina Prudenskaya, Adriane Queiroz, Victoria Randem, Anna Samuil, Natalia Skrycka, Arttu Kataja, Stephan Rügamer, Grigory Shkarupa and the Limewood Ensemble performed. Afterwards was a rehearsal excerpt of the ballet GISELLE with ballet masters and dancers of the State Ballet.

In addition to the program on the main stage, activities included a singalong with the State Opera Choir under the direction of choir director Martin Wright, an instrument carousel with members of the Staatskapelle Berlin that invited children to join in, the “Conduct us” campaign, in which guests could conduct an ensemble of the Staatskapelle Berlin themselves, tours of the Staatsoper, and numerous other musical performances.