For three decades, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden has revolved around one person: Daniel Barenboim. The general music director is not only one of the manageable number of musical geniuses in his field, he is also the center of power in one of the most important opera houses.

After several failures recently, fundamental questions about the future of the house arise with another serious illness of the 79-year-old. These are uncertain times.

“Daniel Barenboim himself often said that you can only do a job like this with all your strength,” says director Matthias Schulz of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “That’s why there will certainly be further talks in the next few weeks.” Schulz points to the importance of the post for the house. “The general music director clearly has a key position.”

Chancellor allowance for the Staatskapelle

The State Opera owes a lot to Barenboim. During his time there were artistic developments as well as clear changes in the general conditions. In the past, the State Opera had to simulate the reverberation of the music with electronic amplification. After Barenboim raised the ceiling by five meters, the reverberation time almost doubled. Instead of mush of sound, transparency now emerges from the orchestra pit. The project was one of the reasons why the renovation took four years longer and cost 400 instead of 240 million euros.

Barenboim has also taken care of financing directly from the Chancellery. Even under Gerhard Schröder there was a chancellor’s allowance for the Staatskapelle, which put the orchestra in the top of the salary bracket. Successor Angela Merkel was also included in the Barenboim Fan Club. His search for money left a lasting impression in the Chancellery for many years.

The “Ring” as a birthday present for Barenboim

Intendant Schulz sees the State Opera Barenboim in an unbelievable debt of gratitude. “He spent 30 years developing this body of sound, bringing the Staatskapelle Berlin to a level of flexibility that now also makes a “Ring” of this quality possible.”

The acclaimed new production of Richard Wagner’s “Ring des Nibelungen” was completed on Sunday evening with “Götterdämmerung” as the last of four premieres. The extremely witty, but also “boo” version of the Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov, with whom Barenboim has been working successfully for years, was intended as a birthday present for Barenboim. The conductor turns 80 on November 15.

Wagner specialist Christian Thielemann stepped in at the podium. The chief conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, who was enthusiastically celebrated by the Berlin premiere audience, is considered a potential successor when Barenboim’s contract ends in 2027.

After the “Ring” renunciation, there is bad news from Barenboim again. For health reasons, he will have to withdraw from some of his appearances, especially conducting, in the coming months. “My health has deteriorated over the past few months and I have been diagnosed with a serious neurological condition,” the 79-year-old wrote. He must now concentrate as much as possible on his physical well-being.

The most recent contract extension for the general music director was already controversial, also in view of discussions about Barenboim’s management style. From Berlin’s Senator for Culture, Klaus Lederer, who is also the chairman of the foundation board of the Opera Foundation responsible for the top staff, there are currently no statements about possible paths into the future of the State Opera, apart from wishes for recovery. Barenboim himself wants to wait for the development and further consultations before making new assessments and announcements.

Director Schulz sees the State Opera as “an extremely healthy, stable house” after the difficult phase of renovation. “We have also shown for some time that we can absorb the absences of our general music director.” That’s the way it should be, Barenboim supported this process. How long can this go well? “With such an illness, it is obviously difficult to make predictions about the course of recovery,” says Schulz. “We have to deal with that together.”

Schulz himself is facing a change. Because he is going to Zurich as artistic director, he is already keeping his successor in Berlin up to date on developments. In 2024, Elisabeth Sobotka took over the management of the house. The 57-year-old, currently director of the Bregenz Festival, is no stranger to Unter den Linden. From 2002 to 2007 she was opera director – under Barenboim.

Announcement Barenboim