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| Deutsche Opernchorverband | |
|---|---|
| Name | Deutsche Opernchorverband |
| Native name | Deutsche Opernchorverband e.V. |
| Formation | 1920s |
| Type | Association |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Region served | Germany |
| Membership | professional opera choruses |
| Leader title | President |
Deutsche Opernchorverband
The Deutsche Opernchorverband is a German association representing professional opera choruses and singers active in opera houses, concert halls, and festivals across Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne and other German cities. It liaises with institutions such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Oper Köln and the Semperoper while engaging with unions and cultural bodies including Ver.di, the Künstler*innenverbände, and municipal cultural departments. The Verband connects practitioners linked to repertoires from Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi to Arnold Schoenberg and Philip Glass and interfaces with festivals like the Bayreuth Festival, the Salzburg Festival, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra's ecosystem.
Founded in the interwar period and reorganized after World War II, the association developed alongside institutions such as the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Staatskapelle Dresden. It negotiated changing conditions during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi Germany era, and the postwar reconstruction that involved organizations like the Allied Control Council and cultural programs influenced by the Marshall Plan. During the Cold War period the Verband worked across borders involving entities in East Germany and West Germany and adapted to reunification related to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany. In recent decades it has interacted with European networks including the European Broadcasting Union and the International Federation of Musicians while responding to shifts prompted by productions of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and contemporary composers.
The Verband is structured as an association with elected officers (president, board, treasurer) and regional representatives linked to ensembles at houses like the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Theater an der Wien, and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Membership comprises chorus members, chorus masters, and rehearsal pianists affiliated with institutions including the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and freelance singers active at venues like the Komische Oper Berlin. It maintains relationships with administrative bodies such as state cultural ministries in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony and cooperates with unions including IG Metall-affiliated cultural sections and ver.di's artistic branches.
The association organizes workshops, masterclasses, and symposiums featuring conductors and pedagogues connected to names like Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, and directors linked to the Staatsoper Hannover and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Projects include collective recordings, collaborative concert cycles with orchestras such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Bamberger Symphoniker, and participation in research initiatives with institutions like the Universität der Künste Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. It engages in outreach partnerships with festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, educational programs tied to the Elbphilharmonie, and cross-border residencies with ensembles from Vienna and Paris.
The Verband negotiates collective agreements and works with labor organizations such as ver.di, the Deutsche Orchestervereinigung, and employer associations representing houses like the Staatsoper Stuttgart and the Oper Frankfurt. It has been involved in disputes concerning working conditions, remuneration, and rehearsal time alongside mediators and arbitration bodies in municipal administrations and cultural ministries. The association interfaces with European labor frameworks represented by the European Commission's cultural units and collaborates with advocacy groups addressing authors' rights tied to organizations such as GEMA and rights discussions involving estates of composers like Richard Strauss and Hans Zimmer.
The association recognizes excellence through internal awards and supports prize initiatives in collaboration with institutions such as the Deutscher Musikrat, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, and cultural foundations including the KfW Stiftung and the Kulturstiftung des Bundes. Its members have participated in productions awarded at ceremonies like the Grammy Awards, the Laurence Olivier Awards, and national honors such as the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany when choruses contributed to prizewinning recordings and staged works by figures including Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, and Benjamin Britten.
The Verband issues newsletters, position papers, and reports circulated among houses such as the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and contributes to journals and periodicals like Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Opernwelt, and cultural sections of newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the Die Zeit. It produces digital media including podcasts, video documentations of rehearsals with conductors like Herbert von Karajan and Riccardo Muti, and collaborates on scholarly publications with academies such as the Leipzig University and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
Category:Music organizations based in Germany Category:Opera choruses Category:Arts organizations established in the 20th century