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Bejart Boosts Berlin
| Article
# : |
10150 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1993 |
1,576 Words |
| Author
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Bruce Merrill
Bruce Merrill, currently based in Paris, is a dance writer,
critic, and teacher. |
When the Staatsoper Ballet in eastern Berlin premiered two new works by Maurice Bejart last spring, Transfigured Night and The Miraculous Mandarin, with Daniel Barenboim conducting the orchestra, it marked a new era for the former German State Opera. At the same time, the Deutsche Oper Berlin Ballet in western Berlin was facing a questionable future, with the recent loss of its director, Peter Schauful, and the overall effects of the unification of east and west.
Company Remake
For the German State Opera (Staatsoper), it all began in 1991 when Georg Quander came in as director and Barenboim as musical director. Major changes were implemented under their leadership, including reworking the repertoire, developing a corporate design, and creating a new image for the house, focusing on the relationship between tradition and the avant-garde.
The opera house, which seats twelve hundred, was founded by Kaiser Frederick II in 1742 and could be called a mixture of Baroque and Louis of Bavaria styles. Quander modified its facade, restoring the original twelve columns and the Greek frescoes, and completely refurbished the interior in cream and gold with red upholstery.
He also changed the name of the opera house--from Staatsoper to Staatsoper Unter Den Linden (Unter Den Linden is the main street in eastern Berlin, where the opera house and several palaces, museums, and universities are located). This change both signals a new start and reasserts the company's position in relation to its rival in western Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin. To further bolster
... (1997 of 9672 Characters)
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