Stay a while

Or as it is in German, “Verweile doch”. This quotation from Faust was chosen as the title for the Berlin State Opera’s opening gala. Yes, everybody would have liked to stay a while, especially the people responsible for its rebuilding. At last, one of Berlin’s major building sites is nearing completion, following seven years of renovation work at almost twice the projected cost. An opening week of events, dubbed “the prelude”, allowed the public a sneak first impression. But afterwards, the theatre was closed again for renovation to be completed.

The season is finally due to start on 7 December.

This festival season, it was also worth staying a while in some of the famous locations. In this issue, we report on the summer’s remarkable events, both on and behind the stage. The Bregenz Festival, for instance, showed a production of “Carmen” embedded in a spectacular stage set, including giant card-playing hands. At the Bayreuth festival, Barrie Kosky caused a sensation with his provocative production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”, featuring an enormous, pop-up head of a caricatured Jew. The Nibelungen Festival in Worms did all credit to its name with an inventive adaptation of ...