Cult in the district
25 years Neuköllner opera

A film by Hanne Kaisik and Uli Aumüller

Camera: Klaus Bernhardt, Jürgen Kornatz, Knut Muhsik, Georg Pahl, Holger Rusch, Ulrich Seifert / sound: Jan Bendel, Andreas Gläßer, Andreas Prescher / Editor: Marion Richter

Length: 45 minutes, SFB 2002: 45 minutes, SFB 2002
45 min. Beta SP 4:3

The first performances were rehearsed in a factory building and took place in churches in Neukölln. Today the Neuköllner Opera has a house of its own, but is nevertheless different from the three other opera houses of Berlin. Firstly, the repertoire: they play what no one else will perform: forgotten operas, musicals, trash. Any subject matter can be adapted, not only from necessity but out of a love of acting and a penchant for droll ideas. In Neukölln they want to make people’s opera and perform for an audience for which the threshold to the State Opera seems too authoritative. Another difference concerns the artists: many of the singers come directly from Music College and make their first professional attempts here. Some of them turn into ensemble members and remain faithful to the Neuköllner Opera for years. They may not be stars, but they love to experiment and yearn for the unconventional, the offbeat and cabaret. The film shows excerpts from the latest productions of this extremely productive opera house: the "Assasins", "Angela", "Gesualdo" and last season ’s success story, the Soaperette “The Kroetzkes are Coming” . Looking behind the scenes, we gain insights into the way the ensemble works and show how big plans can be carried out with few means except fantasy and esprit.