News

Berliner Festspiele celebrated on 27 August with 4,000 visitors

30 August 2011

10 years of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, 10 years of Artistic Director Joachim Sartorius, 60 years of the Berliner Festspiele and the completion of the renovations to Haus der Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele opened Berlin’s new season of culture with a huge jubilee celebration in its freshly renovated and modernized home on 27th August. Joachim Sartorius: “This celebration sets down a cultural marker in Berlin at the beginning of the season. I am delighted that we could use the occasion to display the diversity of the Berliner Festspiele in such concentrated form and that so many of our friends and partners could join us.” Approximately 4,000 visitors took part in the many events of the jubilee celebrations. Many children followed the children’s programme with enthusiasm. The jubilee celebrations featured Kalle Kalima, Oper Dynamo West, Junges DT, Lemi Ponifasio with a preview of his world premiere ‘Le Savali: Berlin’, the Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos from Bolivia, the Capital Dance Orchestra with singers Lisa Bassenge & Simon Marlow and many more. There were readings, tours of the theatre, exhibitions and a wide-ranging programme for children. The highlight was the ceremony with speeches by Joachim Sartorius, Peter Raue, a laudatio by Thomas Kapielski, new collages by and with Nobel prizewinner Herta Müller, musical contributions from the musikFabrik and the world premiere of a short play by Moritz Rinke. The jubilee was marked by the publication of the Berliner Festspiele Book with essays and texts by Minister of State for Culture and the Media Bernd Neumann, Joachim Sartorius, Kerstin Decker, Moritz Rinke, Nele Hertling, Michael Naumann, Peter von Becker and others. A special highlight of the book is a cartoon vision of the future by the poster and graphic artist Henning Wagenbreth. Since 2001 the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with its clear, bright design by Fritz Bornemann has been the ideal setting for the wide range of artistic events which the Berliner Festspiele produce. In the last 18 months, the building has been comprehensively renovated with 15 million Euros of funding from the Konjunkturpaket II. Equipped now to the highest technical specifications, it is now a flexible festival venue ideally suited to the complex demands of international touring. The Berliner Festspiele’s autumn programme for 2011 begins on 1st September with the German premiere of the Tunisian production ‘Yahia Yaïch Amnesia’ by Fadhel Jaïbi followed by an audience discussion. On 2nd September the musikfest berlin begins. At the heart of this international orchestral festival lies the music of Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Rihm and Luigi Nono.