Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni

Soloists:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Grümmer, Pilar Lorengar

Orchestra, choir:

Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Conductor:

Ferenc Fricsay

Director:

Carl Ebert

The opening of the Deutsche Oper Berlin on September 24, 1961, is always seen in connection with the division of Germany, which had been confirmed six weeks earlier, and the construction of the Berlin Wall. The coincidence of these two events did not go unnoticed in the newspaper articles of the time, most of which quoted comments by Willy Brandt, then mayor of Berlin, on the situation in the city: “Having experienced more in recent weeks than an entire generation, the city divided by a wall of coercion and shame is once again making music, producing theater, organizing fine international exhibitions, and can finally open the doors of its long-awaited new opera house.” For almost twenty years – since the destruction of the former Deutsches Opernhaus in November 1943 – Berlin had had to make do with a temporary stage. Ferenc Fricsay conducted the opening performance, even though he was already in the early stages of a terminal illness. Fricsay died in 1963. The performance, directed by Carl Ebert, featured a cast of singers that remains unmatched to this day, including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role, Elisabeth Grümmer and Pilar Lorengar as Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, Donald Grobe, who stepped in at short notice and built an international career on his performance, Walter Berry as Leporello, and Erika Köth as Zerlina. The premiere of Don Giovanni at the Deutsche Oper Berlin is now available on DVD for the first time.