The Irish Mail on Sunday

A nacht at the opera

Peter Cunningham goes to historic Berlin for a classic opera that still resonates today

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Berlin is a fascinatin­g city. I’m here for a weekend to see the main attraction­s that define a capital that has been totally reinvented since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

I’m also here to see Tosca, Puccini’s famous melodrama that includes torture, murder and suicide. And, of course, as some of Puccini’s most famous arias. Tosca in Berlin is a thrilling combinatio­n that has me on the edge of my seat, even before the plane lands.

I’m staying in the Hotel Adlon, beside the Brandenbur­g Gate, an address that speaks for itself. And so it should, for this is one of the great hotels, with a fabled history, overlookin­g one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. The Adlon, on Unter den Linden, is ten minutes’ walk from the Reichstag, the German Parliament, and a mere stroll from Berlin’s delightful Tiergarten, a huge city-centre park, home to Berlin’s zoo.

The bus journey in from Tegal – an airport with a surprising­ly down-at-heel feel to it – takes 40 minutes and costs me €2.50. I keep forgetting what good value Germany is until I return here and find that my double-cappuccino and slice of cake costs only €3.20, which is around half what I am charged at home. I get in late the first night and hit the Adlon’s delicious pillows. I have three full days ahead of me and I plan to be fighting fit in order to make the best of them.

The meticulous way in which everyone from hotel porters to tour guides explain the history of Berlin comes from the fact that

 ??  ?? majesty: The Brandenbur­g gate in Berlin
majesty: The Brandenbur­g gate in Berlin
 ??  ?? high art:. A.scene. from.Tosca
high art:. A.scene. from.Tosca

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