The chequered history of the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is closely linked to that of its home city. The ‘democratic’ opera house was founded 1912, and in the 1920s, famous guest conductors such as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter regularly conducted the orchestra. The house was destroyed during the Second World War, and alternative premises were used until the opera house in Bismarckstraße was established in 1961.
Guest and principal conductors have included Lorin Maazel, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Simon Rattle and Christian Thielemann, who led the orchestra as general music director from 1997 to 2004. Sir Donald Runnicles has held this position since 2009.
One artistic focus of the orchestra is the cultivation of the works of Wagner and Strauss. Another important element is its ongoing engagement with contemporary music, with collaborations including Aribert Reimann’s L’Invisible, Detlev Glanert’s award-winning Oceane, and Giorgio Battistelli’s Il Teorema di Pasolini.
In addition to opera performances, the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin regularly gives symphonic concerts with leading soloists in both its own theatre and the Philharmonie Berlin. Its concert series Against Forgetting aims to keep alive the memory of the members of the orchestra who were expelled and murdered after 1933.
The orchestra’s discography comprises more than 200 titles, including numerous outstanding recordings and several GRAMMY-nominated releases.