Chor der Deutschen Oper

The Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is one of the world’s most renowned opera choruses. Their repertoire spans a wide range of styles; from Mozart and Beethoven, to the great chorus operas of Wagner and Verdi, to contemporary music. This diversity is demonstrated in their performances of around 30 different works each season at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Founded in 1912, the chorus achieved international fame in the 1950s and 1960s with recordings such as Orff’s Carmina burana under Eugen Jochum, and especially through the work of Walter Hagen-Groll, who led the ensemble from 1961 to 1984.

Starting in 2007 the chorus revived this golden age under the direction of American conductor William Spaulding. During his tenure, the chorus was voted Chorus of the Year by Opernwelt magazine for three consecutive years, 2008 to 2010, and garnered rave reviews for their guest appearances at the BBC Proms, where they appeared in Tannhäuser and Verdi’s Requiem.

His successor, Jeremy Bines, who led the chorus from 2017 to 2026, also had a decisive influence on the group’s sound and versatility. The quality and rich nuance of their choral sound really came into its own during these years, for example in the opera house’s monumental Meyerbeer cycle. The chorus was nominated for Chorus of the Year in the 2021 International Opera Awards. Even after stepping down as chorus master, Jeremy Bines will prepare Welt-Parlament (‘World Parliament’) from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

At the start of the new season, Marco Medved from Milan will take over as Chorus Director. He brings with him a wealth of experience as a chorus master in the opera world; most recently he has worked at Oper Bonn and the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari.