Deutsche Oper Berlin

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Image:Deutsche oper berlin.jpg The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera house located in Berlin, Germany (in what was formerly West Berlin). It is the home of an opera company and the Staatsballett Berlin.

It is a relatively new house, having been built after World War II. However, its history goes back to the Deutsches Opernhaus in Charlottenburg (Bismarckstraße 34-37) which was started in 1911 and opened November 7, 1912 with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio, conducted by Ignatz Waghalter.

In 1925, its name was changed to Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera House). Joseph Goebbels had the name changed back to Deutsches Opernhaus. In 1935, the building was remodeled by Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2300 to 2098. It was destroyed November 23, 1943.

After the war, the company used the building of the Theater des Westens until the new building was completed on September 24, 1961. The opening production was Mozart's Don Giovanni. The new building opened with the current name.

In 1968 the opera house was the scene of the shooting of Benno Ohnesorg, a student taking part in the German student movement. He had been protesting against the visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran.

In October 2005, the Italian conductor Renato Palumbo was appointed Music Director from the 2006-2007 season. Past Music directors and principal conductors include Bruno Walter in the 1920s, Ferenc Fricsay, (1948-1952), Lorin Maazel in the 1960s, Gerd Albrecht in the 1970s and 80s, Jesús López Cobos, Jiří Kout and Christian Thielemann in the 1990s. Pre-war general manager Carl Ebert memorably chose emigration over endorsing a Nazi view of music and instead went on to co-found the Glyndebourne opera festival in England before returning as general manager after the war.

[edit] Controversy over Mozart's Idomeneo

In September 2006, the opera house drew criticism after it cancelled performances of Mozart's opera Idomeneo because of fears that a scene in it featuring the severed heads of Jesus, Buddha and the Prophet Muhammad would offend Muslims, and that the opera house's security might become under threat if violent protests took place. Critics of the decision include German Ministers and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1882197,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1</ref> The reaction from Muslims has been mixed - the leader of Germany's Islamic Council welcomed the decision, whilst a leader of Germany's Turkish community, criticising the decision, said: "This is about art, not about politics ... We should not make art dependent on religion — then we are back in the Middle Ages."<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/27/world/main2043282_page2.shtml</ref>