The earliest operatic work seen in Berlin was performed in what is now the Charlottenburg Palace, in 1700. Under the rule of the Emperor Frederick the Great a purpose-built opera house was erected, known variously as the Italian Court Opera and the Lindenoper.
The first German opera performed at the Lindenoper was in 1798. Meanwhile the Nationaltheater had opened in 1786, performing German works, particularly those of Mozart and Gluck. These two houses merged in 1814 under the name of the K├╢nigliche Schauspiele, or Royal Playhouse.
In 1820 Spontini, former conductor of Napoleon's court orchestra, became Berlin's first chief conductor. In 1842 he left and was succeeded by his arch-rival, Meyerbeer.
The house was destroyed by fire in 1843 and reopened a year later with the great soprano Jenny Lind, making her Berlin début. After some years in the doldrums, the company revived between 1891 and 1918, under the direction of Weingartner and Richard Strauss.
Renamed Staatsoper Under den Linden, the house flourished after the First World War under the conductor Karl Kleiber. In 1926/27 the company moved to the Kroll Theatre during renovations. During the years leading up to the Second World War the repertoire was extended under the influence of the conductor, Otto Klemperer.
Much of the company's talent was lost under the Nazi regime, though the conductors Furtwängler and Karajan continued until the stage was destroyed by bombs in 1945. Two months later the company was reestablished, now named the Deutsche Staatsoper, as it is today.
