Thielemann’s final charge

Germany awakes today to the expectation that Christian Thielemann will be installed as general music director of Berlin’s state opera.

The position is prestigious, numbering Richard Strauss, Erich Kleiber and Herbert von Karajan among its occupants and the power is visible, with Germany’s rulers a mere bus-ride away. Thielemann will be acutely aware of the rewards and the risk.

On the other hand, what else should he be doing?

At 64 he has been head of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Bayreuth Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival and Dresden Staatskapelle. Each produced notable triumphs and ended generally in acrimony. Thielemann, like Barenboim, is a man of strong opinions who does not readily entertain contradiction.

Berlin now offers him a last chance to transcend a legacy of controversy and establish an idyll of music making. Thielemann has shown at Bayreuth that he can turn a blind eye to major irritants – appalling scenography and interfering direction – and produce epic realisations of the summits of German opera. If he can do that in Berlin, he will have an exceptional opportunity to rewrite his own history.

He has all to play for, won or lose.