Mezzo-soprano Maria Fiselier (35) has been working in Berlin since 2016, where she has sung at the Komische Oper in recent years, including in Anatevka† The Zauberflöte and Orpheus in the Lower World† She lives with her daughter and husband, a Turkish-Canadian violinist, in the popular Prenzlauer Berg district. Fiselier already sang in best singers and has recently become the presenter of the classic Avrotros registrations, as in August the Prinsengracht concert and in September the Opening Night of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. ‘When I first came there, I thought Berlin was quite an ugly city, so raw and rough, not very beautiful,’ she says. ‘Later I came to really appreciate that raw. Berlin is, how can I say it best: unapologetic† The old, the dilapidated, the black pages of history, Berlin is not ashamed of it, but rather shows it. This is a tolerant, resilient city with an edge.’
The Comical
Maria Fiselier: ‘Berlin is a city with three opera houses, you don’t see that very often. The Komische Oper is usually there for the slightly lighter repertoire, carmen† The Gypsy Baron, and has a classical opera hall with beautiful wall decorations, red plush and two balconies. It can accommodate twelve hundred people. In the meantime, after six years of singing in the Komische, the stage feels like my home. I feel grounded and strengthened, which will hopefully allow me to master many more other stages in the future.’
Komische Oper BerlinBehrenstrasse 55-57
mini festival
‘In the Mauerpark, the old border strip next to the wall, there is a flea market every Sunday with a unique atmosphere. There are stands with jewellery, cartoons, old DDR stuff, antiques, and lots to do, street performers, music, DJs, a beer garden. On the Flohmarkt happens so much that if you didn’t know it, you would think: which mini festival have I ended up at? My daughter is absolutely crazy about it.’
Mauer ParkGleimstrasse 55
Berlin Bear
“Berlin has a great club culture and is a mecca and a haven for the queer, drag and trans communities. Our nanny is drag queen Lady Dina on karaoke night in Tipsy Bear, a nice club, with friendly people and a safe atmosphere, everyone can be themselves here. Maybe not exactly what you would expect from an opera singer, but going wild all night is the end for me.’
Tipsy BearEberswalder Strae 21
Smoked sushi and ice cream patisserie
Roji is the restaurant for next level sushi near me. I recently had dinner there with my sister and we were presented with a spectacular sushi artwork, complete with smoke. They themselves call their sushi ‘Die Vollendung japanischer Kochkunst in Berlin‘, the completion of Japanese cooking in Berlin. That is promising. Roji is only a few houses next to Hokey Pokey, the ice cream parlor with very tasty homemade ice cream, it’s called for a reason Eis patisserie† Niko Robert, who set up the ice cream parlor, used to be a pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.’
Roji-Godai no Sekai Prenzlauer BergOderberger Straße 11
Eispatisserie Hokey PokeyOderbergerstrasse 38
Time for bread
‘At Zeit für Brot, around the corner from us, such good organic bread is baked. A special mention for the delicious Zimtschneckentheir cinnamon rolls, which can be smelled in the street from a distance.’
Zeit für BrotEberswalder Straße 26
Kebab with grilled vegetables
‘Authentic and famous Berlin street food: Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap. Mustafa has had a small imbiss in Kreuzberg, where there is always an impressive line waiting for his delicious döner with, that’s the secret, grilled vegetables.’
Mustafa’s Gemuse KebapMehringdamm 32
concrete blocks
‘I still want to mention the Holocaust monument, although that made me gloomy. Also through the motto of the monument, the text of Primo Levi: ‘It happened and therefore it can happen again. That is the core of what we have to say.’ But it is special and moving, those two thousand high concrete blocks that visitors walk between, the tightness you feel, the being enclosed.’
Holocaust-MahnmalCora-Berliner Strae 1
teacups
‘The Spreepark is an abandoned amusement park from the GDR. It was first taken over by an investor who went bankrupt and then closed again. But the amusement park has never been demolished, everything is still there, a carousel with those rotating teacups from which the plants are now growing, a rusty roller coaster, an old Ferris wheel. We once sang with the Komische Oper in the Spreepark, which was intriguing, as if we were on a film set. There are already plans for a reopening.’
SpreeparkKiehnwerderallee 1-3
(Airport
‘This is also a typical Berlin way of looking at the city. Tempelhof Airport was located in the middle of the city and was closed in 2008. But it wasn’t torn down or built over, they just left it as it was and now it’s a big green field, where the old runway can still be seen. Berliners come here to skate, cycle, run, barbecue on the field and just enjoy the wide open space.’
Tempelhofer Feld, Tempelhofer Damm
City of Lakes
‘In Berlin there are quite a few lakes in and around the city and the Plötzensee is very centrally located. It is a natural lake where Berliners used to bathe in the 19th century. I like it here as much as in the summer, there is a beach, some food, some drinks, often live music and a nudist beach nearby. And it attracts a mixed audience.’
Strandbad Plotzensee, Nordufer 26