History

This watercolour (depicting the chalk cliffs of Rügen) was painted by Rudolf Heinrich, a close friend of my father’s. They worked together at Komische Oper Berlin from the late 1950es until 1961 - just before the wall was built.

I wasn’t born then, but I remember several trips to East Berlin, Potsdam and Cottbus with my father. He’d had many friends among artists and musicians in Germany‘s east, and from the many stories he told me about his time at the opera, he missed  them a lot. But living in two states and systems, they had very few chances to see each other again, and the easy companionship of their youth never got revived. 

Shortly before Germany was officially reunified, my father took me to East Berlin a last time. The wall was still in place, but everyone could freely cross the border and the Brandenburg Gate was open once again. I remember my father walking through the gate. It was a very happy moment for him, but also a pensive one - so many of his old friends had not lived to see that day, including the stage designer and painter Rudolf Heinrich.