Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera) tickets 31 January 2025 - Fin de partie | GoComGo.com

Fin de partie

Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera), Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany
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7:30 PM
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US$ 107

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You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Berlin, Germany
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 1
Sung in: French
Titles in: German,English

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Conductor: Alexander Soddy
Baritone: Bo Skovhus (Clov)
Mezzo-Soprano: Dalia Schaechter (Nell)
Bass-Baritone: Laurent Naouri (Hamm)
Orchestra: Staatskapelle Berlin
Tenor: Stephan Rügamer (Nagg)
Creators
Composer: György Kurtág
Director: Johannes Erath
Writer: Samuel Beckett
Overview

Endgame, game over. With four characters. Hamm and his servants Clov. Hamm’s parents Nagg and Nell. A play with rules, rituals, memories, and words. Words that are sung, which has only been rarely done with Samuel Beckett’s texts. György Kurtág’s opera Fin de partie is the only full-length setting of one of his plays.

The Hungarian composer was fascinated by Beckett’s Endgame, which premiered in Paris in 1957, for more than half a century. In 2010, at the age of 85, Kurtág began composing his very first opera, which premiered at Milan’s Scala in 2018. In his musical language, he relies closely on Beckett’s original French text, which he opens to a fascinating space of sound with his delicate instrumentation. Here, Beckett’s predilections for the circus, amusement parks, and clownery resonate, as Johannes Erath foregrounds in his production.

History
Premiere of this production: 15 November 2018, Teatro alla Scala, Milan

Fin de partie is a one-act opera by György Kurtág, set to a French-language libretto adapted by the composer from the play Endgame (French title: Fin de partie) by Samuel Beckett, with the inclusion of a setting of Beckett's English-language poem "Roundelay" at the start of the opera.

Synopsis

The setting is a house by the sea, where four people reside:

Hamm, an elderly gentleman confined to a wheelchair
Clov, servant to Hamm, who cannot sit down
Nagg and Nell, Hamm's very old parents, each trapped in a dustbin, without legs
The tensions between the four characters exasperate each of them:

Hamm cannot abide his parents and their chatter.
Nell can barely tolerate Nagg.
Clov regards the others wearily.
All four wait for an end to the inertia and claustrophobia of their situation.

Prologue: Nell is the first character to appear, and delivers the setting of 'Roundelay' to begin the opera. Her words hazily allude to memories, with the sound of footsteps as the only sound to be heard on the beach.
Clov's Pantomime: Clov and Hamm appear. Clov is troubled and uneasy on his legs. He makes repetitive gestures, the same gestures every day, during his domestic chores, interspersed with short, nervous laughter.
Clov's First Monologue: Clov speaks of the possibility that the current situation may come to some sort of end soon.
Hamm's First Monologue: by contrast, Hamm thinks about his and his parents' sufferings. With feelings of despondency and exhaustion, he claims that he cannot resolve the current circumstances.
Bin: Nagg and Nell, both severely handicapped, are tired out from their long-term bickering, and their mutual incomprehension. During their conversation, they recall the cycling accident in the Ardennes that caused them both to lose their legs. Memories also surface of a boat trip on Lake Como. These memories are their sole happy memories and, at least superficially, give them a little nostalgia for their life spent together. Yet, Hamm, who wants to sleep, finds his parents' chatter irritating, and orders Clov to throw the bins, including Nagg and Nell, into the sea. Nell dies in the meantime, apparently unnoticed by the others.
Novel: Hamm wants to tell Nagg a story. In past days, a father had come to him on Christmas Eve asking for bread for his son. Hamm had decided to take him on.
Nagg's Monologue: Nagg remembers when Hamm was young and needed him.
Hamm's Penultimate Monologue: Hamm ponders his difficult relations with others.
Hamm and Clov's Dialogue: Hamm asks Clov for his tranquilliser. Clov replies that no tranquillisers are left.
"It's over, Clov" and Clov's Vaudeville: Hamm tells Clov that he no longer needs him, but then asks Clov to say something that he may remember before departing. Clov remarks that Hamm had never spoken to him until that moment. Only now, as he is about to leave, does Hamm pay any notice of him.
Clov's Last Monologue: Clov reflects on his condition. He has never understood what words like 'love' and 'friendship' mean. He also feels old, tired, and unable to form new habits. He is bound to his repetitive, never-changing daily routine.
Transition to the Finale: Hamm thanks Clov as Clov is about to leave.
Hamm's Last Monologue: Clov is about to leave, but has not yet moved. Hamm realises that he has been left alone.
Epilogue: Hamm grasps that it is now up to him – and him alone – to continue playing the endgame.

Venue Info

Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera) - Berlin
Location   Unter den Linden 7

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is one of the oldest and largest musical theaters in Germany. Founded in 1742 as the Royal Court Opera (German: Königliche Hofoper) under Frederick II. Located in Berlin, on the main street Unter den Linden.

King Frederick II of Prussia shortly after his accession to the throne commissioned the original building on the site. Construction work began in July 1741 with what was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to be the first part of a "Forum Fredericianum" on present-day Bebelplatz. Although not entirely completed, the Court Opera (Hofoper) was inaugurated with a performance of Carl Heinrich Graun's Cesare e Cleopatra on December 7, 1742. This event marked the beginning of the successful, 250-year co-operation between the Staatsoper and the Staatskapelle Berlin, the state orchestra, whose roots trace back to the 16th century.

In 1821, the Berlin Opera—hosted at the Schauspielhaus Berlin—gave the premiere of Weber's Der Freischütz. In 1842, Wilhelm Taubert instituted the tradition of regular symphonic concerts. In the same year, Giacomo Meyerbeer succeeded Gaspare Spontini as General Music Director. Felix Mendelssohn also conducted symphonic concerts for a year.

On August 18, 1843 the Linden Opera was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction of the building was supervised by architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans, and the Königliches Opernhaus (Royal Opera House) was inaugurated the following autumn by a performance of Meyerbeer's Ein Feldlager in Schlesien. In 1849, Otto Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor was premiered at the Royal Opera House, conducted by the composer.

1945: The Lindenoper was once again destroyed on February 3. The concerts were relocated to the Admiralspalast and the Schauspielhaus. On 18 February, Karajan conducted his last symphonic concert with the Staatskapelle in the Beethoven hall.

The second rebuilding took a long time. From 1945, the opera company played in the former Admiralspalast (today's Metropoltheater). From 1949, the company served as the state opera of East Germany. It moved back to its original home after the rebuilding in freely adapted baroque forms was finally completed in 1955. The newly rebuilt opera house was opened, again, with Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The capacity is now about 1,300. After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, the Opera was somewhat isolated, but still maintained a comprehensive repertoire that featured the classic and romantic period together with contemporary ballet and operas.

After reunification, the Linden Opera rejoined the operatic world. Important works that had already performed in the past were rediscovered and discussed anew within the framework of a "Berlin Dramaturgy". Baroque Opera in particular was at the center of attention, with Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare, Keiser's Croesus, Florian Leopold Gassmann's L'opera seria and Scarlatti's Griselda. These works were performed by Belgian conductor René Jacobs together with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Freiburger Barockorchester on period instruments. In the 1990s, the opera was officially renamed Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

In 1992, the Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim was appointed Music Director. In 2000, the orchestra (according to its official website) elected Barenboim "conductor for life." During the 2002 Festtage, he led a Wagner cycle in ten parts, a production created in collaboration with director Harry Kupfer.

Since 2009, the Berlin State Opera has been undergoing considerable renovation work led by German architect HG Merz. The roof of the opera building was raised and the proscenium prolonged to improve the acoustics. Other renovation and extension works include the director's building, the below-ground connection building and the depot building. The latter will house the new rehearsal center.

The house was reopened in 2017 with premieres of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea on one weekend.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Berlin, Germany
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 1
Sung in: French
Titles in: German,English
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