The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera house in what used to be West Berlin. It is the home of an opera company and the Staatsballett Berlin.

It is a relatively new house, having been built after World War II. However, its history goes back to the Deutsche Opernhaus in Charlottenburg (Bismarckstraße 34-37) which was started in 1911 and opened November 7, 1912 with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio.

In 1925, its name was changed to Städtische Oper . Joseph Goebbels had the name changed back to the Deutsche Opernhaus. In 1935, the building was remodeled by Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2300 to 2098. It was destroyed November 23, 1943.

After the war, the company used the building of the Theater des Westens until the new building was completed on September 24, 1961. The opening production was Mozart's Don Giovanni. The new building opened with the current name.

In 1968 the opera house was the scene of the shooting of Benno Ohnesorg, a student taking part in the German student movement. He had been protesting agaimst the visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran.

External links

http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/