3 Opera Houses in Berlin

While introducing Berlin’s neighborhoods a few posts ago, I mentioned the State Opera house was in the Mitte district. Since then I’ve done more research and found that there are not one, but three opera houses in Berlin. What a delight!

For me, as a dancer and a performing artist, European opera houses are a sea of history. I love to walk into these fabulously decorated architectural gems, stroll on the red carpets, and feel the spirits of famous artists who graced their presence in these houses. I was lucky enough to have seen the Paris Opera Ballet perform La Fille Mal Gardée at the Palais Garnier last summer in Paris. This summer, I plan to relive that memory by visiting Berlin’s opera houses.

Berlin’s three opera houses are the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Komisch Oper Berlin.





1. Staatsoper Unter den Linden: 

Address: Bismarckstr. 110, 10625 Berlin 

Repertoire: Ranges from baroque to current new works.

This is the largest opera house in Europe and is acclaimed for its importance as an opera stage. It was built between 1741-1743 with the exterior style of Prussian classicism and the interior style of Rococo, similar to the palace of Charlottenburg.  The stage has been graced by numerous stars, including Richard Strauss and Felix Mendelssohn. Today’s general director of Music, Daniel Barenboim, was appointed conductor for life in 2000 for his committed artistic vision.






2. Deutsche Oper Berlin: 

Address: Bismarckstr. 35, 10627 Berlin

Repertoire: Specializes in 19^th century classical, including works of Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss

This is Berlin’s largest opera house. The modern Bauhaus style theater holds 1,865 seats with each having a perfect view. One of its features is the panoramic view of the city audience members can enjoy during intermission.






3. Komische Oper Berlin:  

Address: Behrenstraße 55-57, 10117 Berlin

Repertoire: Ranged from 18^th century to current new works.

This theater’s first director, Walter Felsenstein, laid the foundation for a new era of modern musical theater. Since his death, productions continued to bring unique and contemporary flair to the stage. During WWII, the 1,190 theater seats stayed untouched, while the entrance got entirely destroyed. The connection between old and modern not only plays a role in its architecture, but its repertoire.

Both the Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper will be open in August, so I hope to get a theater tour. The Staatsoper will be having an outdoors concert which I will miss, but hopefully I will be able to get a ticket for a Deutsch Oper production. Speaking of theaters, I also can't forget Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast. Although it isn't an opera house, the Palace spectacular shows to offer. I hope to be able to squeeze in a few shows with all the dancing I will be doing.