Travel to Berlin: Music Adventure

Berlin Musical Adventure
Between Tradition and Trend

During the legendary twenties, Berlin was the place of artists and

creative minds, pleasure seekers and lovers of culture and art, and theatre fans from around the world. Berlin’s tourist board was then already promoting itself as the “City of Music and Theatre” in their publications and posters. The breadth and variety of the cultural life shaped the burgeoning metropolis and created an extraordinary mythology; a mythology that still retains its magical appeal.

The range of cultural events on offer is staggering and extends from operas and art exhibitions to theatre productions, concerts and festivals. There are 180 museums and collections, 440 galleries, 3 opera houses and 8 large symphony orchestras, 94 cinemas, about 140 theatres and stages as well as numerous other institutions with more than 1,500 events on offer every day. For all seasons, at all hours and for every taste, Berlin has something to offer - 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

www.365-24.berlin

Enormous Variety of Productions

As a classical music metropolis, Berlin ranks first. Renowned musicians and singers from all over the world perform regularly in Berlin or have moved to the city on the River Spree. Berlin has no less than three opera houses. Numerous productions from a variety of periods belong to the repertoires of the Deutsche Oper, Komische Oper, and the Staatsoper, the latter under the artistic direction of none other than Daniel Barenboim. The Staatsoper will probably remain housed in the Schillertheater in Charlottenburg until the summer of 2017, while its main venue at Unter den Linden is currently being extensively restored. The reopening ceremony has been planned for October 3, 2017.
www.oper-in-berlin.de

Eight symphony orchestras complement the variety on offer in Berlin. The Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra is housed in the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in what was previously East Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1963 near the Potsdamer Platz in former West Berlin. The latter has 2,250 seats and provides an exceptional auditory experience due to Hans Scharoun’s architectural design. The Berlin Philharmonic – one of the world’s finest orchestras – is at home here. Illustrious names such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado have been responsible for its development. In 2019, Kirill Petrenko will succeed his colleague Sir Simon Rattle as its principal conductor.

www.berliner-philharmoniker.de

www.konzerthaus.de

Outside its East End, Berlin offers even more entertainment in all of its facets. The shows in the Wintergarten draw on the magnificent variety shows that were once held in this venue at the end of the 19th century. In the Bar Jeder Vernunft and in the Tipi am Kanzleramt, chanson and jazz concerts are held, as well as regular performances by stars of the cabaret and comedy scene in an incomparably intimate atmosphere.

www.wintergarten-berlin.de
www.bar-jeder-vernunft.de
www.tipi-am-kanzleramt.de

Great musical productions are on show at the Theater des Westens as well as the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. At the latter, the successful musical “Hinterm Horizont” by Udo Lindenberg runs until August this year. More than 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this piece with all the great Lindenberg songs tells a touching “East-West-Side-Story”. One of the most successful productions in Berlin is the Blue Man Group. Since their Berlin premiere in 2004, the group has delighted more than 2 million viewers at this Berlin venue which is unique in Europe. The dynamic and humorous show resides at the Bluemax Theater on the Marlene-Dietrich-Platz. It functions almost without words and is accordingly a real treat for foreign visitors.

www.stage-entertainment.de