The voices of German duo “Die Oper” echo in the silence of an empty St. Peter's Basilica, during a brief concert made possible by Claudia Kaminski from K-TV. She decided to do something special after hearing that access to the Basilica would be limited again this Easter.
CLAUDIA KAMINSKI
“And I was like, 'What? It can't be true.' Then I was in the Basilica again, saw it so empty, and it's very still because no one's in there. And then I thought, 'Why not ask these young guys, these tenors from Germany, if they would like to sing in the Basilica?'”
JONAS WUERMELING
die Oper
“For us it was really more of a joyful experience and also a really humbling experience, because there are always two sides to one thing, and that's a great thing. And you come here, you're like, 'Wow, this is going to be awesome.' And then you stand in front of this church, in front of the Vatican, and you're like, 'Whew.'”
MAXIMILIAN DAUM
die Oper
“Yes, it's unbelievable because you know which humans went into this church and made it what it is now. And it is the center of the Catholic Church.”
The tenors prepared a short concert featuring 18 pieces for the Celebration of the Passion and Easter, which will be broadcast for people unable to visit the Vatican during Holy Week because of the pandemic.
And though classical music is at the heart of their identity, the duo's goal is twofold: to foster an appreciation for opera while simultaneously exploring other genres.
JONAS WUERMELING
die Oper
“Once you go in the opera, either you're like, 'Wow, I want to hear more of it,' or you're like, 'Ugh, I don't need this.' But 100 percent of the people that we took to the opera were like, 'Wow, this is amazing.' And we want to get back to the point, especially with young people, that young people go back into the theatres, go back and listen to some more classical music, and that's why we are also making pop music.”
MAXIMILIAN DAUM
die Oper
“It's about building bridges between genres, between humans, and even the taste of music. And that's what we want to move, and it's funny. We started at a church, as a child, went to the opera, and now we're in this church.”
The duo is preparing to release an album as early as May, combining classical and pop music into something they assure is completely new and which will feature a number of world-class Djs.
CT
