Our first premiere of the new season will be a major musical event. Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Wednesday from Light is one of the most elaborate opera productions ever staged. The Helicopter String Quartet extends the musical space far beyond the opera house. Be there when the string quartet takes flight. The scale of the production is enormous and extraordinary. You will experience four helicopters, four musicians, four pilots, and complex sound and visual technology. In the Helicopter String Quartet, Stockhausen’s audacious dreams become reality. Here, music truly flies.

The Helicopter String Quartet forms the heart of Wednesday from Light. Of course, four helicopters cannot take off inside the auditorium of the Deutsche Oper. But they will take off. Two weeks before the premiere of Wednesday from Light, four musicians in four helicopters will take off from Schönhagen Airfield in Brandenburg. The flight and the musicians will be filmed, and the footage will later form part of the production. If you’d like to be there live for the recording, join us at Schönhagen Airfield on 5 September. But please note: places are very limited. As the helicopters take off and land, you will feel the wind in your hair and the thudding of the rotors in your body; you will hear the string players and see the helicopters circling above you. This is Stockhausen as a total experience. Alternatively, we’re offering a live public viewing in the foyer of the Deutsche Oper.

Key information
Please bring a smartphone or tablet with headphones so that you can follow the audio and video feed from the helicopters.

Schönhagen Airfield is difficult to reach by public transport. We are therefore organising a shuttle bus. If you have also booked a ticket for our shuttle bus: We’ll meet at 1.15 pm at the main entrance to the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Bismarckstr. 35, 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg). The bus will depart punctually at 1.30 pm. Make the most of the roughly one-hour journey to get in the mood: an introduction to the production awaits you. The bus will be available on site for the return journey from around 4.30 pm. The shuttle bus is fully booked. Tickets cannot be purchased on the day.

Important travel information: If you are travelling by car, please arrive no earlier than 2.00 pm. There are no waiting areas on site and you cannot enter the airfield before the event starts. Thank you for your understanding! Parking is free of charge. // Schönhagen Airfield, 14959 Trebbin


Please note: The event will be filmed. By obtaining a ticket, you agree that you may appear in the recordings.

Karlheinz Stockhausen's opera «Mittwoch aus Licht» (Wednesday from Light) is being produced with the generous support of the Förderkreis der Deutschen Oper Berlin and the Lotto Foundation Berlin. A co-production with the Philharmonie de Paris. In cooperation with Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin. In collaboration with Schönhagen Airport, Mut Events and Media Pool.

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