A motley group of travellers on their way to Reims for the coronation of Charles X is billeted in the Hotel zur Goldenen Lilie. But when it transpires that no fresh horses are available for the stage coach, they realise they’re stranded.

The journey to Reims

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Enrico wants his sister to marry Lord Arturo Bucklaw, a match that will save his family from bankruptcy, but Lucia has committed to Edgardo Ravenswood, Enrico’s nemesis, who is asserting his right to family land that is now formally owned by Enrico. A forged letter framing Edgardo as having been unfaithful and blaming Lucia for the predicament the family is in enables Enrico to persuade Lucia to marry Lord Bucklaw. Edgardo throws down the gauntlet to Enrico. Lucia goes insane and dies. Edgardo, grief-stricken at the sound of the death knell, stabs himself to death.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Even though Italy's great composers are primarily known for their operas, almost all of them also wrote wonderful songs. Accompanying the new production of LA FIAMMA, the first evening of ‘Songs and Poets’ provides an insight into this little-known repertoire with works by Ottorino Respighi and his contemporaries and shows how this tradition was continued right up to Luciano Berio's ‘Quattro canzoni popolari’.

Songs and poets: The ideal woman

It’s a rambunctious tale: an old curmudgeon is set on marrying his own ward of court with a view to snapping up her considerable inheritance. He leaves no stone unturned in his efforts to keep the fair Rosina cloistered from the outside world and thus from any potential young suitors. A pity, then, that Count Almaviva has fallen head over heels for her. Assisted by Figaro, an enterprising barber, he plans to outwit the old man, win over Rosina – and ensure that it’s love that attracts her to him rather than his rank and wealth. Not an easy job for Figaro, seeing as the opposite camp is scheming with equal tenacity … Love wins out in the end, and it turns out that all precautions were useless!

The Barber of Seville

Repelled by the dispassion of the Wartburg society of minnesingers, Tannhäuser, a singer-knight, removes to the interior of the Venusberg in search of fulfilment. Eventually his longing for Elisabeth leads him to leave again. Back at the Wartburg castle, Tannhäuser takes part in a singing contest whose theme is the nature of love, but when he sings that love is ideally about sensual satisfaction, he is cast out and sent to Rome to seek papal absolution. He returns from Rome without the hoped-for indulgence and resolves to return to the Venusberg. Then a miracle occurs and he finds redemption after all.

Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg

Violetta Valery, living in kept splendour at the expense of Baron Douphol, has apparently recovered from a serious illness. To celebrate, she throws a party where she meets and falls for Alfredo Germont. As their love for each other is frowned upon, they set up house outside of Paris. Alfredo’s father insists that she break with his son in order not to jeopardise the marriage prospects of Alfredo’s sister. Violetta accedes to his wish and cuts off relations. In a showdown at another party Violetta tries to convince Alfredo that she’s in love with the Baron, causing Alfredo to hurl his gambling winnings at her feet, calling them “fees for services rendered”. Soon afterwards, at the height of the Paris carnival, Violetta is on her deathbed. She receives Alfredo, who has heard from his father her real reason for leaving him. Violetta forgives him, gives him her blessing and dies.

La traviata

It’s the most performed opera in the German-speaking region, an unusual – and masterly – blend of Viennese folk theatre and fairy tale, mythology and freemasonry mystique: Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE remains a puzzle to this day. Did Mozart and his librettist Schikaneder switch horses from the Queen of the Night to Sarastro half way through? Is the message not one of distrust towards a supposedly infallible priesthood and its simplistic good-versus-evil ideology? Are some Mozart experts right when they talk of a disconnect between text and music? Whatever the answer, it’s the music that allows us to relate to the story’s contradictions. Far from denouncing the characters, it confers an existentiality on their conflicts.

The Magic Flute

After a day full of opera, backstage experiences, children's programmes, stage shows and more, arias and ensembles from premieres and revivals will be performed. You can look forward to our orchestra, the chorus, and many soloists who will get you in the mood for an exciting and musical season 24/25.

Season Opening Concert 24/25

A nation is cowed by its princess. Turandot, beautiful and fascinating representative of a royal dynasty, presides over a gruesome ritual: only her marriage to a suitor will bring an end to the violence, but no would-be bridegroom has yet managed to solve the riddles. The same old spectacle plays out, ending in yet another execution, until Calaf, the son of a deposed ruler from a foreign land, unexpectedly answers the riddles correctly. He then turns the tables on Turandot, forcing her to answer his own question if she wants to steal out of her obligation. Puccini’s times are changing rapidly, the art world is going through drastic transformation and new, abstract forms are being coined to reflect modern-day experience. And the composer, in his early 60s, is again trying to break new ground.

Turandot

It is common knowledge that Giuseppe Verdi, by nature a critical man, not only found much to disapprove of in the trends of his day but also subjected his own work to a continuous process of editing and revision.

Kangyoon Shine Lee

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 15, 2024 - Jul 12, 2025

The Magic Flute · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Oct 4, 2024 - Jun 13, 2025

La traviata · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Oct 5, 2024 - Apr 13, 2025

Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Oct 6, 2024 - Apr 8, 2025

The Barber of Seville · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Dec 27, 2024 - Jan 6, 2025

The journey to Reims · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Past events

Dec 27, 2024 - Jan 6, 2025

The journey to Reims · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Oct 31 - Dec 18, 2024

Lucia di Lammermoor · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Future and recently performed repertoire

Pang in Turandot by Puccini

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Tamino in The Magic Flute by Mozart

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Giuseppe in La traviata by Verdi

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Walther in Tannhäuser by Wagner

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville by Rossini

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Count of Lerma / Herold in Don Carlos by Verdi

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Cavalier Belfiore in Il viaggio a Reims by Rossini

Deutsche Oper Berlin

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