I came to Leipzig for a Wagner festival that they had in May 2016. The Leipzig Opera put on three…read morerarely performed early Wagner works: Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. They were performed on three consecutive nights on a weekend in May. This made it ideal for a visitor since I could stay for four nights and take in three operas plus go to the symphony on my fourth night. I have now been to several of the main opera houses worldwide and thought the Oper Leipzig was truly outstanding, especially in terms of the performances and the acoustics in the building. I had not heard of any of the singers and they seem to have company singers that they use in their performances, but I thought almost all the voices I heard were outstanding and on a par with top international talent. The Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, which plays with the opera, of course if one of the top orchestras in the world, and their performance in the operas was really the high point. The staging for all three operas was excellent. I am usually in favor of more traditional stagings, and the Leipzig Oper did a few modern adaptations, but I didn't find that it distracted too much. The building itself is not ornate like the Semperoper in Dresden or the Wiener Staatsoper. However, I think the outstanding acoustics and the excellent sightlines and comfortable seats give you really all you need. One problem, though, is that it was fairly warm while I was there and they do not seem to have very good air conditioning in the building. It is interesting that they have very large portraits of their singers posted in the lobby areas, with each singer in two different poses. The selection of refreshments is very good and prices exceedingly reasonable. I got a glass of wine during intermission for just three euros. The prices of the opera tickets themselves are also exceedingly reasonable, with top seats in the front orchestra section ranging around 75 to 95 euros. I definitely recommend this opera house and look forward to visiting again for their innovative and excellent performances.

Last night, I watch the ballet of Othello (the last performance of the year before summer) I will…read morenot pretend I am an expert. In fact I am a British Army Medic. I had very little expectation before arriving to something I believe would be "boring".... (how fun can a ballet be right?).... The whole of the second act I was I tears. I felt so Involved. I do not have the penmanship of Shakespeare to explain to you how good this performance was. Whos every job it is to select the props should be given a medal. The head female dancer (probably has a title I don't know) as she was dieing let out short breaths as she danced that were somehow so powerful. Maybe every ballet is like this. I doubt it. However a day later, I'm sat in Starbucks and it's the only thing I can think about. Thank you so much...

Incredible place. I go here all the time and I've attended multiple operas here. This place made my…read moresemester here.

What a place, what a history and why a showmanship. I don't like opera much but I really enjoy it…read morein Europe, they do know how to put on a great show in their historical house. This opera house is not the best I had been to but nicely layout and well kept. Great and friendly staff and the surrounding sounds is quite lovely. It's easy to get to since there is a train station right there just outside the opera house. Plenty of restaurants, bars surrounding the place for your enjoyment before or after the show.

This is a staple of the Berlin performing arts scene. If you're not into traditional opera, though,…read moreI would highly recommend taking advantage of any offerings from the Tischlerei or Ambushed from Behind programming. They present fascinating, new takes on traditional operas and they provide a thought-provoking night out at the theater.

Beautiful opera house. Five stars. The bar has an amazing mix of old and new architecture. La…read moreboheme was just amazing.

You really see a piece of art inside this buildingread more

Technically, the Berlin Philharmonic Hall is a restaurant because it has food service…read more But, no duh, you are here for the music. * * * From the standpoint of classical music, A concert at the Berliner Philharmonie is the peak, The apex, The Bach's Mass in B Minor from which everything else is a step down. When I am not reviewing for Yelp, I am a classical music fiend. I have a vast collection at home. I stream classical music constantly. I have done classical music concerts all over Europe and the United States. Whether or not the Berlin Philharmonic is the best orchestra in the world Depends on what the piece is and who is conducting. But in terms of concert HALLS themselves, The Berlin Philharmonie is as good as it ever gets. Lots and lots and lots of concert halls claim to have good acoustics. No major concert hall can approach the Berlin Philharmonie for sound quality. Smoking gun evidence for this all out claim. There are two halls at the Philharmonie - a great hall for symphonies and a more intimate chamber music space. The more intimate chamber music space is still bigger than most high school auditoriums. Both halls are designed as theater-in-the-round. You can be in the back - with all the instrumentalists turned away from you at 180 degrees - And you get louder clearer sound than you would in most halls sitting next to the performers. The only concert space with sound quality to match is Saint-Chapelle in Paris ... And that is a small stone chapel with just enough room for twenty or thirty people. (The low hanging curved stone roof and walls work wonders.) The Philharmonie matches that while being ten times the size. * * * Architecturally the Philharmonie is stunning - but there are many many beautiful concert halls in the world. The Philharmonie is done in unpretentious German modern with an emphasis on polka dots and flying steel staircases. Of all of the concert halls, this is architecturally the most fun. * * * How is the food? The coffee is wretched. If you need caffeine before your concert, Drink a Red Bull before you go. But the Philharmonie has one brilliant idea. If you want food, the major food option is canapes. Most American readers will groan at the thought of canapes Being the only thing to eat at a concert. For us, canapes are tiny little snacks on crackers. You need about thirty of those to make a meal. Paying five euros for two of them seems outrageous. * * * BUT Heh heh heh ... GERMAN canapes are made on korn bread. Korn bread are those thin slices of brown bread That are microscopically thin but are majorly and totally filling. You can start your day with two slices of korn bread with something on top And you are literally good to go until lunch. The Philharmonie puts all sorts of wonderful things on their korn bread ... And yes you get two canapes in a serving. One serving of the Philharmonie's korn bread canapes And you are ready to sit through Wagner's entire Ring Cycle. Four operas? Three to four hours each? Bring it on! Hell, let's listen to the whole thing two times in a row! * * * A plate of the Philharmonie's wonderful canapes, A half hour looking at the polka dots and the flying staircases, And then Simon Rattle doing Beethoven's Seventh? What more do you want out of life?

We went to see the Berlin Philharmoniker conducted by the oldest active conductor Herbert Blomstedt…read morewhom is currently 97 years old! It was a great performance consisting of Mozart's Orchester No. 20 in D minor, followed by Bruckber's Symphony No. 9. The space itself is very big with interesting architecture and layout of seating, you can't really go wrong with any seat selection based on how seating is arranged. Downstairs you're able to grab a drink and a pretzel to enjoy before the showing or during intermission. There are lots of tables spread out to enjoy the drinks and then leave the glasses as no food/drink are allowed beyond the first level. There are lots of areas to check your coat and finding the seats was fairly easy. We followed everyone else's cues for clapping, and it was a wonderful experience.

From the owner: Die DanzArte Ballett- und Tanzschule ist eine vom Senat für Bildung, Jugend und Wissenschaft des…read moreLandes Berlin anerkannte berufsvorbereitende Ballett- und Tanzschule. Dementsprechend ist sie in der Lage, aufgrund der professionellen Laufbahn sowie der pädagogischen Ausbildung der Lehrkräfte, die SchülerInnen auf eine staatliche Akademieprüfung vorzubereiten. Feste Lehrpläne, geeignete Räumlichkeiten und die leistungs- und altersgemäß angebotenen Kurse sind weitere wichtige Grundvoraussetzungen dieser tänzerischen Ausbildung. Unser Ziel ist es, den SchülerInnen jeden Alters sowohl eine pädagogisch korrekte Grundausbildung als auch die Magie, Freude und die Faszination dieser Kunst zu vermitteln, damit sie neue, phantasievolle Ausdrucksmittel für eine zukünftige tänzerische Karriere oder ganz einfach für ihr weiteres Leben entdecken können.