Soon it will be time again: The Corona time-out and summer break of the big concert halls and stages is over and the new season begins. Although the hygiene and spacing rules present the orchestras with special challenges, they are finding creative solutions to offer you a special programme with many highlights this season as well. Thus we will also celebrate Beethoven's 250th birthday in autumn with many festivals and concerts.
So there are many reasons to look forward to the coming season. We have compiled our personal Top 11 for you.
Please show responsibility, wear your masks and follow the hygiene rules of the organizers. Don't be shy, but show your love for Berlin with d i s t a n c e - in support of everyones safety.
Tip 1: Igor Levit plays at Musikfest
To kick off the new season, the Musikfest will take place at the end of August with a revised programme. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, the music festival is themed Beethoven and the music of our time. As a special highlight, star pianist Igor Levit will play Beethoven's 32 piano concertos in eight concerts.
When: 25 August - 23 September
Where: Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Strasse 1, Tiergarten
Tip 2: Staatsoper Unter den Linden
The Staatskapelle is celebrating its 450th anniversary: as a prelude, Daniel Braemboim conducts the Beethoven cycle, which was actually planned for Easter on the Festtage. On September 6, you can visit the open air concert Staatsoper für alle on Bebelplatz when the Staatskapelle plays Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto with Lang Lang at the piano. And in addition to the festive concerts, there will of course be opera premieres in the venerable Haus Unter den Linden, such as Ariadne auf Naxos, Walk the Walk and the gala programme of the Staatsballett Berlin From Berlin with Love II.
When: from 31 August
Where: Staatsoper Unter den Linden 7, Unter den Linden, Mitte
More information about Staatsoper unter den Linden
Tip 3: Deutsche Oper seeks challenges
Greatness, depth, passion is the motto of Deutsche Oper, under which it constantly takes on new challenges. These great premieres, which the opera is staging this season, are The Ring of the Nibelungen, Simon Boccanegra as well as Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Beethoven's Fidelio.
When: from 27 August
Where: German Opera Berlin, Bismarckstraße 35, Charlottenburg
More information about Deutsche Oper Berlin
Tip 4: The show will go on! at Komische Oper
The show will go on! said Barrie Kosky at the beginning of the corona crisis, when the Komische Oper wanted to close its doors. Now the programme for the whole season is ready with new formats and creative and certainly sometimes improvised ways. Five premieres are on the programme: Offenbach's operetta Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein, the choir project Mondnacht with songs by Robert Schumann, Gluck's Iphigenie auf Tauris as well as the one-woman production Pierrot Lunaire with Dagmar Manzel and the concertante operetta production Die Blume von Hawaii. In addition, there are exciting projects, concerts and specials that show "The show will go on!"
When: from 3 September
Where: Komische Oper Berlin, Behrenstraße 55 - 57, Mitte
More information about Komische Oper Berlin
Tip 5: The Philharmonic orchestra heralds a new start
On August 28, the Berlin Philharmonic will begin the season with Kirill Petrenko on the conductor's podium, and four concerts will be held in the first weeks of the season, focusing on the German-Austrian repertoire with music by Johannes Brahms, Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg Richard Strauss, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Antonín Dvořák and Dmitri Shostakovich. In the course of the season, the Philharmonic will then welcome many old and new friends as guest artists, including Daniel Harding and Daniel Barenboim on piano.
When: from 25 August
Where: Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Strasse 1, Tiergarten
More information about Philharmonie Berlin
Tip 6: Robin Ticciati conducts Wagner
A highlight of the coming season with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester will undoubtedly be the Wagner Perspectives from November 13 to 21, where Robin Ticciati and the DSO will explore Richard Wagner's relationship with Paris and France. Otherwise, the orchestra will not really take off until November, but then all the more so. Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano and Ingo Metzmacher will stand at the DSO's podium and conduct.
By the way, on September 19th you can join Berlin's largest spontaneous orchestra, the Symphonic Mob, and perform together with Robin Ticciati and DSO, the Rundfunkchor Berlin and violinist Christian Tetzlaff.
When: from September 19th
Where: Philharmonie and other venues
More information about Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Tip 7: Happy birthday Konzerthaus
"Everything remains different" is the motto at the Gendarmenmarkt, where the Konzerthaus is celebrating its birthday. For the birthday party on 26 May 2021, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and its principal conductor Christoph Eschenbach will therefore be playing a special anniversary programme with music by Carl Maria von Weber - 200 years to the day after the opening! Festive programmes are also planned for the opening of the season and the turn of the year as special highlights.
When: from 1 September
Where: Konzerthaus, Gendarmenmarkt, Mitte
More information about Konzerthaus
Tip 8: The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin explodes
The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin also starts the season with a Beethoven concert - in the open air. On August 29, Vladimir Jurowski conducts Beethoven in the Gardens in the Gärten der Welt. During the season you can look forward to musical encounters with Igor Stravinsky and Anton Webern. And if you love tango music: The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin is celebrating the 100th birthday of Astor Piazzolla. From March 22nd to 28th, it will be called An Orchestra explodes when the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin plays in small formations all over the city.
More information about Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Tip 9: The Staatsballett Berlin is back on the stage
Starting in August, you can admire the dancers of the Staatsballett Berlin as they once again show their skills in the gala evenings FROM BERLIN WITH LOVE (I + II) at the Deutsche Oper and the new production LAB_WORKS COVID_19 at the Komische Oper, floating weightlessly across the stage. LAB_WORKS COVID_19 is the first new stage production of the Staatsballett Berlin after the lockdown, in which the ensemble deals with the virus and its consequences.
When: from 27 August
Where: various houses
More information about Staatsballett Berlin
Tip 10: Neuköllner Oper presents interesting people
The Neuköllner Oper team has also developed new plays that deal with the current situation and has rethought and rehearsed all the plays already staged. The focus here is on the struggle of the individual with his or her circumstances. So you can meet the "red Elvis" Dean Reed, a man who called himself Beethoven, a Mexican museum curator in the Humboldt Forum, the free spirit Giovanni and many other interesting people in cool productions.
When: from 1 August
Where: Neuköllner Oper, Karl-Marx-Straße 131/133, Neukölln
More information about the Neuköllner Oper
Tip 11: Music also plays in the Berlin churches
Great concerts can be enjoyed not only in the concert halls and opera houses, but also in the churches of the city. There is not only organ music, but also classical music and jazz, choirs and world music. Take a look at the popular Noon Songs in the Hohenzollernkirche in Wilmersdorf. A look at the calendars of the Gedächtniskirche, the Berliner Dom and the other churches is definitely worthwhile.
More information about Berlin's churches
