By Alexandra Stone
The opera for all is a yearly communal event, in which the people of Berlin get to enjoy a balmy summer afternoon, listening to the sound of the Staatsoper orchestra underneath the big blue sky. They offered this wonderful free service both Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June at Bebel Platz. Both days the orchestra were directed by the musical prodigy , Daniel Barenboim who was born in Buenos Aires. Since 1992, Daniel Barenboim has been musical director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and then from 1992 to August 2002 he was also the artistic director. In autumn 2000, the Staatskapelle Berlin elected him chief conductor for life. This guy is big cheese in the classical realm with a list of achievements belonging only, to somebody with an overriding passion.
The place was packed but the audience was in a serene mood which made it easy to see, hear and move around. Movenpick were giving out free ice creams (thank you), the beer was on hand, the sun was out and the music dramatic. I stayed until they threw the roses. Then I went and sat beside the Spree, promptly falling asleep (this could be attributed to the tree fluff everywhere making me drowsy, what's with that?) in the evening sun, with Tchaikovsky's symphony number 4, in F minor, dancing around my dreams, bliss!
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