PLEASE NOTE: the Staatsoper's Unter den Linden location is currently being refurbished. The Staatsoper is at the Schiller Theatre (Bismarckstrasse 110) until autumn 2017.
The Staatsoper was founded as Prussia's Royal Court Opera for Frederick the Great in 1742, and designed along the lines of a Greek temple. Although the present building dates from 1955, the façade faithfully copies that of Knobelsdorff's original, twice destroyed in World War II. The elegant interior gives an immediate sense of the house's past glory, with huge chandeliers and elaborate wall paintings. Chamber music is performed in the small, ornate Apollo Saal, which is housed within the main building. Unsold tickets are available for €10 half an hour before the performance.