The Staatsoper Unter den Linden (State Opera under the Lime Trees) on the boulevard Unter den Linden in Berlin's Mitte district is part of the Berlin Opera Foundation. It dates back to a foundation by Frederick the Great in 1741. Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff built the opera house in the Friderician Rococo style until 1743. Burned out in the Second World War, it was rebuilt from 1951 to 1955 according to plans by Richard Paulick as part of the Forum Fridericianum. It is the oldest opera house in Berlin and the “first important theater ever to be built as a monumental, free-standing structure in a city”.

The opera house was the venue of the following ensembles: Royal Opera (1742-1918), Prussian State Opera (1918-1933), State Opera (1933-1945), German State Opera (1955-1990).

Since 1990, it has been the venue of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Colloquially, both the venue and the ensemble were and are called the Lindenoper.

At the end of the 19th century, both the opera house and the court chapel became increasingly interesting for important artists. The engagement of Richard Strauss as court conductor and conductors such as Joseph Sucher, Karl Muck and Felix von Weingartner brought the orchestra international prestige.

From 1918 to 1939, the State Opera was part of the Prussian State Theaters. During the National Socialist era, the house was under the control of Minister President Hermann Göring as the Prussian State Theater. Jewish singers, musicians, conductors and other employees were forced out of the building. During the Second World War, the building suffered severe damage in an Allied air raid in 1941.

After the Second World War, the East Berlin magistrate decided to rebuild the building in 1951.
Despite the East-West conflict in Berlin, the new name “Deutsche Staatsoper” was emblazoned on the portico. The opera house was reopened on September 4, 1955 with a festive performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under the direction of Franz Konwitschny. The name Deutsche Staatsoper (German State Opera) was chosen in 1955 to emphasize the importance of the GDR as an independent German state.

To avoid confusion with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the ensemble was given the name Staatsoper Unter den Linden after German reunification in 1990. Since 2004, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden has formed the Berlin Opera Foundation together with the Deutsche Oper, the Komische Oper, the Staatsballett and the Bühnenservice.

The general refurbishment of the Berlin opera house from 2010 cost 400 million euros and ultimately took seven years instead of the initially planned three years. On October 3, 2017, the renovated opera house, which has 1356 seats, was reopened with a production of Robert Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust. (Source: Wikipedia)