Verdi, Bellini & the Berlin Philharmonic
- Norma (Bellini), Simon Boccanegra (Verdi) and a Beethoven & Webern concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle and Röschmann.
- Accompanied both by a musicologist and an art historian to lead morning walks.
Through an extraordinary process of transformation, Berlin is now one of the most exciting city in Europe. In the last fifteen years or so it has acquired one of the world’s greatest concentrations of first-rate contemporary architecture, and massive works of civic improvements and restoration have revealed the patrimony of historic architecture to be among the finest in Central Europe. Art and antiquities of the highest international importance are now displayed in magnificently restored or newly-built galleries.
And while this flurry of activity brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy, belt-tightening has not yet led to the long-threatened closure of any one of its three opera houses. Nor has there been a reduction in expenditure on the Berlin Philharmonic, perhaps the best orchestra in the world. Berlin remains one of the few cities where outstanding performances can be virtually guaranteed.
This tour begins with Bellini’s Norma at the Staatsoper, an eighteenth-century building which will shortly close for several years. There follows a Beethoven and Webern concert with the Berlin Phil, Sir Simon Rattle and Dorothea Röschmann at the Philharmonie, their striking home designed by Hans Scharoun in 1956. Verdi’s late masterpiece Simon Boccanegra at the Deutsche Oper is a fitting finale to this magnificent run of concerts.
There are daily talks by a musicologist, Jan Smaczny, and morning walks with cultural historian and Berlin resident Tom Abbott. Afternoons are left free.