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About Berlin International Opera
Berlin International Opera began in 2006 with a group of professional singers who were searching for more exciting and challenging opportunities in opera. After huge reductions in government funding, opera companies were cutting back, resulting in less-satisfying productions and fewer opportunities. Berlin International Opera’s goal was simple: raw opera.
What is raw opera? Raw opera is a unique type of production that brings the opera directly to the audience; opera without barriers and without artifice; opera in a venue that compliments and enhances the opera-going experience. Berlin artists thrive on the unorthodox, and the idea of “raw opera” has fired imaginations all over the city. Raw opera strikes a nerve.
Berlin International Opera started with modest plans for one production, Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The opera boasted exceptional musicians from seven countries on five different continents. Under the musical direction of Kanako Nakagawa and the stage direction of Jean-Ronald LaFond, the opera was a great success, with overwhelming feedback from audiences and accolades from esteemed colleagues. After this victory, the founders knew that there was a niche to be filled, and that Berlin International Opera had to continue.
In September 2007, the Berlin International Opera presented its second opera: Le Nozze di Figaro. The production took place at the Löwenpalais, a beautiful villa in Berlin’s Grunewald and a perfect setting for Mozart’s domestic comedy. Audiences were transported into the lives of the servants, Figaro and Susanna; and their sponsors, the Count and Countess Almaviva. The cast, under the direction of Anke Rauthmann, gave the opera-goers a look into the private lives and loves of these eccentric characters. The production was such a success that the Berlin International Opera was invited to repeat it at the Saalbau Neukölln in February 2008.
Verdi’s Macbeth will be the second opera of the 2007-2008 season. The venue this time will be at the HomeBase lounge at centrally-located Potsdamer Platz, where film and multimedia will be used to enhance the horror and deception of the plot. The audience will have an almost 360° view as the characters vie for ascendancy through witchcraft and murder.
Berlin is a beacon for the arts, and every day professional singers from around the world arrive here intent on singing in top-notch productions. The Berlin International Opera uses its innovative spirit to provide that opportunity. The result is raw opera, a rare and exciting experience for both the singers and the audience.