Virtously orchestrated Light

275 Years State Opera with Opera e Luce

One of the most important music stages in the world opened with a unique overture of music and light: in 2017 the Berlin State Opera celebrated its 275th anniversary and at the same time its reopening after thorough renovation. The FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS staged this unique event. The State Opera and the other historic buildings around Bebelplatz were illuminated as a 360° symphony under the title “Opera e Luce”.

Very grand Opera

On the façade of the State Opera the spectators experienced 275 years of opera history in a nine-day prelude. The reopening began on 30 September 2017 with a STATE OPERA FOR ALL concert by the state orchestra.

On October 7, the State Opera Unter den Linden and the Senator for Culture Dr. Klaus Lederer invited to a CONCERT FOR BERLIN with free admission to the opera house. The tickets for the concert, a thank-you to the Berliners, were raffled via the State Opera and awarded in cooperation with the KulturLeben Berlin association.

The video mapping “Opera e Luce” ran daily from 6th October until 15th October as part of the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS 2017. In the five-minute show, the well-known light artist Andreas Hauslaib presented the history of the historical opera in an exciting picture story. For example, the fire in the building in 1843 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 were illustrated. The video also brought figures from famous operas to life on the outer walls of the State Opera. The audience suddenly faced the legendary Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “Magic Flute” or discovered characters from “Figaro’s Wedding” and “The Barber of Seville”.

In the days before, a drone had flown inside through the modernized opera and had captured fantastic images. The most impressive scenes of the flight could now be seen on the opera facade.

The all-round Sensation

But the video installation did not only take place at the State Opera. Also all other buildings around were included. These included the St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, the Hotel de Rome, the Faculty of Law at Humboldt University and Bankhaus Löbbecke.

The result was a brilliant all-round panorama of video mappings, collages, architectural illuminations and music with the State Opera in the centre. Many visitors could not believe their eyes because they had never before experienced such a brilliant scenery of the senses. See for yourself.