Live performance of the Helicopter String Quartet

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 informationPlease 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 wish to travel to and from the event by bus, please book a bus ticket for €25.00 in addition to your admission ticket. We will meet at 1.30 pm at the main entrance of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The journey takes about an hour. Chief Dramaturg Beate Breidenbach and her team will give an introduction to the work on the bus and host the event.

You may also travel there independently by car. In that case, you only need an admission ticket.

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

Artists/Collaborators: Beate Breidenbach (Moderation, Dramaturgie), Maxime Pascal (Musikalische Leitung), Florent Derex (Sounddesign), Anna Matz (Violine), Monia Rizkallah (Violine), Kirsikka de Leval Jezierski (Viola), Arne-Christian Pelz (Violoncello)

Karlheinz Stockhausens Oper «Mittwoch aus Licht» entsteht mit großzügiger Unterstützung des Förderkreises der Deutschen Oper Berlin und der Lotto Stiftung Berlin. Eine Koproduktion mit der Philharmonie de Paris. In Kooperation mit Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin

Next date:

• Date Saturday, 05/September/2026 15:00
• Venue Flugplatz Schönhagen
• Address 14959 Trebbin