Literary form.

The "Symposium" is considered a dialogue – a form used by Plato in more than thirty works – but in fact, it is predominantly a series of essay-like speeches from differing points of view. So dialogue plays a smaller role in the "Symposium" than it does in Plato's other dialogues. Socrates is renowned for his dialectic approach to knowledge (often referred to as the Socratic Method), which involves posing questions that encourage others to think deeply about what they care about and articulate their ideas. In the "Symposium", the dialectic exists among the speeches: in seeing how the ideas conflict from speech-to-speech, and in the effort to resolve the contradictions and see the philosophy that underlies them all.  The "Symposium" is, like all of Plato's dialogues, fiction. The characters and the settings are to some degree based on history, but they are not reports of events that actually occurred or words that were actually spoken. There is no reason to think they were not composed entirely by Plato. The reader, understanding that Plato was not governed by the historical record, can read the "Symposium", and ask why the author, Plato, arranged the story the way he did, and what he meant by including the various aspects of setting, composition, characters, and theme, etc.  For a very long time, it was widely believed that Socrates was presented in the dialogues by his admiring disciple, Plato, as an ideal philosopher and ideal human being. It was thought that what Socrates said was what Plato agreed with or approved of. Then in the late 20th century, another interpretation began to challenge that idea. This new idea considers that the "Symposium" is intended to criticize Socrates, and his philosophy, and to reject certain aspects of his behavior. It also considers that Socratic philosophy may have lost touch with the actual individual as it devoted itself to abstract principles.  The above view, attributed to Martha Nussbaum, can, however, be challenged in favor of the traditional one. The portrayal of Socrates in the "Symposium" (for instance his refusal to give in to Alcibiades' sexual advances) is consistent with the account of Socrates put forward by Xenophon and the theories that Socrates defends throughout the Platonic corpus. Plato shows off his master as a man of high moral standards, unwavered by baser urges and fully committed to the study and practice of proper self-government in both individuals and communities (the so-called "royal science"). The dialogue's ending contrasts Socrates' intellectual and emotional self-mastery with Alcibiades' debauchery and lack of moderation to explain the latter's reckless political career, disastrous military campaigns, and eventual demise. Alcibiades is corrupted by his physical beauty and the advantages thereof; he ultimately fails to ascend to the Form of Beauty through philosophy.  One critic, James Arieti, considers that the "Symposium" resembles a drama, with emotional and dramatic events occurring especially when Alcibiades crashes the banquet. Arieti suggests that it should be studied more as a drama, with a focus on character and actions, and less as an exploration of philosophical ideas. This suggests that the characters speak, as in a play, not as the author, but as themselves. This theory, Arieti has found, reveals how much each of the speakers of the "Symposium" resembles the god, Eros, that they each are describing. It may be Plato's point to suggest that when humankind talks about god, they are drawn towards creating that god in their own image.  Andrew Dalby considers the opening pages of the "Symposium" the best depiction in any ancient Greek source of the way texts are transmitted by oral tradition without writing. It shows how an oral text may have no simple origin, and how it can be passed along by repeated tellings, and by different narrators, and how it can be sometimes verified, and sometimes corrupted. The story of the symposium is being told by Apollodorus to his friend. Apollodorus was not himself at the banquet, but he heard the story from Aristodemus, a man who was there. Also, Apollodorus was able to confirm parts of the story with Socrates himself, who was one of the speakers at the banquet. A story that Socrates narrates, when it is his turn to speak, was told to Socrates by a woman named Diotima, a philosopher and a priestess.

As a response to Aristophanes.

Aristophanes' comedy, "The Frogs" (405 BC), attacks the new tragedy of Agathon and Euripides, and opposes it to the old tragedy of Aeschylus. In "The Frogs", Dionysus, the god of theatre and wine, descends into Hades and observes a heated dispute between Aeschylus and Euripides over who is the best in tragedy. Dionysus is engaged to be the judge, and decides the outcome, not based on the merits of the two tragedians, but based on their political stance regarding the political figure, Alcibiades. Since Aeschylus prefers Alcibiades, Dionysus declares Aeschylus the winner. That contest provides the basic structure on which the "Symposium" is modeled as a kind of sequel: In the "Symposium" Agathon has just celebrated a victory the day before and is now hosting another kind of debate, this time it is between a tragedian, a comic poet, and Socrates. At the beginning of the "Symposium" Agathon asserts that "Dionysus will be the judge", and Dionysus is, though Alcibiades performs as a surrogate for the god. So the character, Alcibiades, who was the deciding factor in the debate in "The Frogs", becomes the judge in the "Symposium", and he now rules in favor of Socrates, who had been attacked by Aristophanes in "The Clouds". The Symposium is a response to "The Frogs", and shows Socrates winning not only over Aristophanes, who was the author of both "The Frogs", and "The Clouds", but also over the tragic poet who was portrayed in that comedy as the victor.

Historical context.

It is considered that the work was written no earlier than 385 BCE, and the party to which it makes reference has been fixed in 416 BCE, the year in which the host Agathon had the dramatic triumph mentioned in the text. The disastrous expedition to Syracuse, of which Alcibiades was a commander, took place the following year, after which Alcibiades deserted to Sparta, Athens' archenemy.  Hamilton remarks that Plato takes care to portray Alcibiades and Socrates and their relationship in a way that makes it clear that Socrates had not been a bad influence on Alcibiades. Plato does this to free his teacher from the guilt of corrupting the minds of prominent youths, which had, in fact, earned Socrates the death sentence in 399 BC.

Synopsis.

The dialogue's seven main characters, who deliver major speeches, are:  The story of the banquet is narrated by Apollodorus, but before the narration proper begins, it is shown that Apollodorus is telling the story to a friend of his that isn't named, and also that the story of this banquet has been told before by others, as well as previously by Apollodorus himself. This section previews the story of the banquet, letting the reader know what to expect, and it provides information regarding the context and the date. The banquet was hosted by the poet Agathon to celebrate his first victory in a dramatic competition: the Dionysia of 416 BCE. Apollodorus was not present at the event, which occurred when he was a boy, but he heard the story from Aristodemus, who was present. Apollodorus later checked parts of the story with Socrates, who was also there. In this brief introductory passage, it is shown that the narrator, Apollodorus, has a reputation for being somewhat mad, that he is a passionate follower of Socrates, and that he spends his days either listening to Socrates or else telling others of what he has learned from Socrates. The story, as told by Apollodorus, then moves to the banquet at Agathon's home, where Agathon challenges each of the men to speak in praise of the Greek god, Eros. Apollodorus tells his friend a story of a symposium, or banquet, that was hosted by the playwright Agathon to celebrate his victory in a dramatic festival the night before. Socrates is late to arrive because he became lost in thought on the way. When they are done eating, Eryximachus takes the suggestion made by Phaedrus, that they should all make a speech in praise of Eros, the god of love and desire. It will be a competition of speeches to be judged by Dionysus. It is anticipated that the speeches will ultimately be bested by Socrates, who speaks last.  Phaedrus starts by pointing out that Eros is the oldest of the gods, and that Eros promotes virtue in people. Next, Pausanias contrasts common desire with a "heavenly" love between an older man and a young man (before the age when his beard starts to grow), in which the two exchange sexual pleasure while the older man imparts wisdom to the younger one. He distinguishes between this virtuous love, and the love of an older man for a young (immature) boy, which he says should be forbidden on the grounds that love should be based on qualities of intelligence and virtue that are not yet part of a boy's makeup and may not develop. Eryximachus has the next speech (although he has switched with Aristophanes) and suggests that Eros encourages "sophrosyne", or soundness of mind and character, and is not only about human behavior, but also occurs in music, medicine, and many other areas of life.  The fourth speech is from Aristophanes, who tells a comic, fantastical story about how humans were at one time two people conjoined, but this was seen as threatening to the gods, so Zeus cut everyone in half just like fish is cut in two parts. The irony in his storytelling is obvious (he praises the "confidence, courage and manliness" of males searching for males "and there is good evidence for this in the fact that only males of this type, when they are grown up, prove to be real men in politics" - which is highly ironical for such a critic of the times' politicians as Aristophanes himself) Love is the desire we have to find our other half, in order to become whole. Agathon follows Aristophanes, and his speech sees Eros as youthful, beautiful, and wise; and as the source of all human virtues.  Before Socrates gives his speech he asks some questions of Agathon regarding the nature of love. Socrates then relates a story he was told by a wise woman called Diotima. According to her, Eros is not a god but is a spirit that mediates between humans and their objects of desire. Love itself is not wise or beautiful but is the desire for those things. Love is expressed through propagation and reproduction: either physical love or the exchanging and reproducing of ideas. The greatest knowledge, Diotima says, is knowledge of the "form of beauty", which humans must try to achieve.  When Socrates is nearly done, Alcibiades crashes in, terribly drunk, and delivers an encomium to Socrates himself. No matter how hard he has tried, he says, he has never been able to seduce Socrates, because Socrates has no interest in physical pleasure. Despite this speech, Agathon lies down next to Socrates, much to Alcibiades' chagrin. The party becomes wild and drunken, with the symposium coming to an end. Many of the main characters take the opportunity to depart and return home. Aristodemus goes to sleep. When he wakes up the next morning and prepares to leave the house, Socrates is still awake, proclaiming to Agathon and Aristophanes that a skillful playwright should be able to write comedy as well as tragedy (223d). When Agathon and Aristophanes fall asleep, Socrates rises up and walks to the Lyceum to wash and tend to his daily business as usual, not going home to sleep until that evening (223d).

Phaedrus.

Phaedrus opens by citing Hesiod, Acusilaus and Parmenides for the claim that Eros is the oldest of the gods. He confers great benefits, inspiring a lover to earn the admiration of his beloved, for example by showing bravery on the battlefield, since nothing shames a man more than to be seen by his beloved committing an inglorious act (178d-179b). "A handful of such men, fighting side by side, would defeat practically the whole world." Lovers sometimes sacrifice their lives for their beloved. As evidence for this, he mentions some mythological heroes and lovers. Even Achilles, who was the beloved of Patroclus, sacrificed himself to avenge his lover, and Alcestis was willing to die for her husband Admetus.  Phaedrus concludes his short speech in proper rhetorical fashion, reiterating his statements that love is one of the most ancient gods, the most honored, the most powerful in helping men gain honor and blessedness – and sacrificing one's self for love will result in rewards from the gods.

Pausanias.

Pausanias, the legal expert of the group, introduces a distinction between a nobler and a baser kind of love, which anticipates Socrates' discourse. The base lover is in search of sexual gratification, and his objects are women and boys. He is inspired by "Aphrodite Pandemos" (Aphrodite common to the whole city). The noble lover directs his affection towards young men, establishing lifelong relationships, productive of the benefits described by Phaedrus. This love is related to "Aphrodite Urania" (Heavenly Aphrodite) and is based on honoring one's partner's intelligence and wisdom.  He then analyses the attitudes of different city-states relative to homosexuality. The first distinction he makes is between the cities that clearly establish what is and what is not admitted, and those that are not so explicitly clear, like Athens. In the first group there are cities favorable to homosexuality, like Elis, Boeotia and Sparta, or unfavorable to it like Ionia and Persia. The case of Athens is analyzed with many examples of what would be acceptable and what would not, and at the end, he makes the assertion that Athens' code of behavior favors the nobler type of love and discourages the baser.

Eryximachus.

Eryximachus speaks next, though it is Aristophanes' turn, as the latter has not recovered from his hiccups enough to take his place in the sequence. First Eryximachus starts out by claiming that love affects everything in the universe, including plants and animals, believing that once love is attained it should be protected. The god of Love not only directs everything on the human plane, but also on the divine (186b). Two forms of love occur in the human body – one is healthy, the other unhealthy (186bc). Love might be capable of curing the diseased. Love governs medicine, music, and astronomy (187a), and regulates hot and cold and wet and dry, which when in balance result in health (188a). Eryximachus here evokes the theory of the humor. He concludes: "Love as a whole has... total... power... and is the source of all happiness. It enables us to associate, and be friends, with each other and with the gods" (188d Transl. Gill). He comes across as someone who cannot resist the temptation to praise his own profession: "a good practitioner knows how to treat the body and how to transform its desires" (186d).

Aristophanes.

W. Hamilton considers that Aristophanes' speech, which comes next, is one of Plato's most brilliant literary achievements. The speech has become a focus of subsequent scholarly debate, as it has been seen as mere comic relief, and sometimes as satire: the creation myth Aristophanes puts forward to account for sexuality may be read as poking fun at the myths concerning the origins of humanity, numerous in classical Greek mythology.  Before starting his speech, Aristophanes warns the group that his eulogy to love may be more absurd than funny. His speech is an explanation of why people in love say they feel "whole" when they have found their love partner. He begins by explaining that people must understand human nature before they can interpret the origins of love and how it affects their own times. This is, he says because in primal times people had doubled bodies, with faces and limbs turned away from one another. As spherical creatures who wheeled around like clowns doing cartwheels (190a), these original people were very powerful. There were three sexes: the all male, the all female, and the "androgynous," who was half male, half female. The males were said to have descended from the sun, the females from the earth and the androgynous couples from the moon. These creatures tried to scale the heights of Olympus and planned to set upon the gods (190b-c). Zeus thought about blasting them with thunderbolts but did not want to deprive himself of their devotions and offerings, so he decided to cripple them by chopping them in half, in effect separating the two bodies.  Ever since that time, people run around saying they are looking for their other half because they are really trying to recover their primal nature. The women who were separated from women run after their own kind, thus creating lesbians. The men split from other men also run after their own kind and love being embraced by other men (191e). Those that come from original androgynous beings are the men and women that engage in heterosexual love. He says some people think homosexuals are shameless, but he thinks they are the bravest, most manly of all, as evidenced by the fact that only they grow up to be politicians (192a), and that many heterosexuals are adulterous and unfaithful (191e). Aristophanes then claims that when two people who were separated from each other find each other, they never again want to be separated (192c). This feeling is like a riddle, and cannot be explained. Aristophanes ends on a cautionary note. He says that men should fear the gods, and not neglect to worship them, lest they wield the ax again and we have to go about hopping on one leg, split apart again (193a). If a man works with the god of Love, they will escape this fate and instead find wholeness.

Agathon.

His speech may be regarded as self-consciously poetic and rhetorical, composed in the way of the sophists, gently mocked by Socrates. Agathon complains that the previous speakers have made the mistake of congratulating mankind on the blessings of love, failing to give due praise to the god himself (194e). He says that love is the youngest of the gods and is an enemy of old age (195b). He says that the god of love shuns the very sight of senility and clings to youth. Agathon says love is dainty and likes to tiptoe through the flowers and never settles where there is no "bud to bloom" (196b). It would seem that none of the characters at the party, with the possible exception of Agathon himself, would be candidates for love's companionship. Socrates, probably the oldest member of the party, seems certain to be ruled out. He also implies that love creates justice, moderation, courage, and wisdom. These are the cardinal virtues in ancient Greece. Although devoid of philosophical content, the speech Plato puts in the mouth of Agathon is a beautiful formal one, and Agathon contributes to the Platonic love theory with the idea that the object of love is beauty.

Socrates.

Socrates turns politely to Agathon and, after expressing admiration for his speech, asks whether he could examine his positions further. What follows is a series of questions and answers, typical of Plato's earlier dialogues, featuring Socrates' famous method of dialectics. First, he asks Agathon whether it is reasonable for someone to desire what they already have, like for example someone who is in perfect health to wish he were healthy (200a-e). Agathon agrees with Socrates that this would be irrational, but is quickly reminded of his own definition of Love's true desires: youth and beauty. Putting the two together then, for Love to desire youth he must not have it himself, thus making him old, and for him to desire beauty, he himself must be ugly. Agathon has no choice but to agree.  After this exchange, Socrates switches to storytelling, a departure from the earlier dialogues where he is mostly heard refuting his opponent's arguments through rational debating. Socrates tells of a conversation he had with a woman from Mantinea, called Diotima, who plays the same inquiring/instructing role that Socrates played with Agathon.  Diotima first explains that Love is neither a god, as was previously claimed by the other guests, nor a mortal but a daemon, a spirit halfway between god and man, who was born during a banquet thrown by the gods to celebrate the birth of Aphrodite. One of the guests was Plutus, the god of wealth, who was passed out from drinking too much nectar, and it so happened that another deity arrived, Poverty, who came to the banquet to beg, and upon seeing Plutus lying unconscious took the chance to sleep with him, conceiving a child in the process: Love. Having been born at Aphrodite's birthday party, he became her follower and servant, but through his real origins Love acquired a kind of double nature. From his mother, Love became poor, ugly, and with no place to sleep (203c-d), while from his father he inherited the knowledge of beauty, as well as the cunningness to pursue it. Being of an intermediary nature, Love is also halfway between wisdom and ignorance, knowing just enough to understand his ignorance and try to overcome it. Beauty then is the perennial philosopher, the "lover of wisdom" (the Greek word "philia" being one of the four words for love).  After describing Love's origins, that provide clues to its nature, Diotima asks Socrates why is it, as he had previously agreed, that love is always that "of beautiful things" (204b). For if love affects everyone indiscriminately, then why is it that only some appear to pursue beauty throughout their lives? Socrates does not have the answer and so Diotima reveals it: Beauty is not the end but the means to something greater, the achievement of a certain reproduction and birth (206c), the only claim that mortals can have on immortality. This is true for men as well as animals that seek an appropriate place to give birth, preferring to roam in pain until they find it. Some men are pregnant in body alone and, just like animals, enjoy the company of women with whom they can have children that will pass on their existence. Others are pregnant in both body "and" mind, and instead of children they carry wisdom, virtue, and above all, the art of civic order (209a). Beauty is also their guide, but it will be towards the knowledge needed to accomplish their spiritual births.  In conclusion, Diotima gives Socrates a guide on how a man of this class should be brought up from a young age. First, he should start by loving a particular body he finds beautiful, but as time goes by, he will relax his passion and pass to the love of all bodies. From this point, he will pass to the love of beautiful minds, and then to that of knowledge. Finally, he will reach the ultimate goal, which is to witness beauty in "itself" rather than representations (211a-b), the true Form of Beauty in Platonic terms.  This speech, in the interpretation of Marsilio Ficino in "De Amore" (1484), is the origin of the concept of Platonic love.

Alcibiades.

Entering upon the scene late and inebriated, Alcibiades pays tribute to Socrates. Like Agathon and Aristophanes, Alcibiades is a historical person from ancient Athens. A year after the events of the "Symposium", his political enemies would drive him to flee Athens under fear of being sentenced to death for sacrilege and turn traitor to the Spartans. By his own admission, he is very handsome.  Finding himself seated on a couch with Socrates and Agathon, Alcibiades exclaims that Socrates, again, has managed to sit next to the most handsome man in the room, Agathon and that he is always doing such things (213c). Socrates asks Agathon to protect him from the jealous rage of Alcibiades, asking Alcibiades to forgive him (213d). Alcibiades says he will never do such a thing (213e). Wondering why everyone seems sober, Alcibiades is informed of the night's agreement (213e, c); after saying his drunken ramblings should not be placed next to the sober orations of the rest, and that he hopes no one believed a word Socrates said, Alcibiades proposes to offer an encomium to Socrates (214c-e).  Alcibiades begins by comparing Socrates to a statue of Silenus; the statue is ugly and hollow, and inside it is full of tiny golden statues of the gods (215a-b). He then compares Socrates to a satyr Marsyas; Socrates, however, needs no flute to "cast his spell" on people as Marsyas did – he needs only his words (215b-d).  Alcibiades states that when he hears Socrates speak, he feels overwhelmed. The words of Socrates are the only ones to have ever upset him so deeply that his soul started to realize that his aristocratic life was no better than a slave's (215e). Socrates is the only man who has ever made Alcibiades feel shame (216b). Yet all this is the least of it (216c)- Socrates is mad about beautiful boys, following them around in a daze (216d). Most people, he continues, don't know what Socrates is like on the inside:  Alcibiades thought at the time that Socrates really only wanted him sexually, and by letting Socrates have his way with him he would entice Socrates to teach him everything he knew (217a). Yet Socrates made no move, and Alcibiades began to pursue Socrates "as if I were the lover and he my young prey!" (217c). When Socrates continually rebuffed him, Alcibiades began to view Socrates as the only true and worthy lover he had ever had. So he told Socrates that it seemed to him now that nothing could be more important than becoming the best man he could be, and Socrates was best fit to help him reach that aim (218c-d). Socrates responded that if he did have this power, why would he exchange his true (inner) beauty for the image of beauty that Alcibiades would provide. Furthermore, Alcibiades might be wrong and Socrates may be of no use to him (218e-219a). Alcibiades spent the night sleeping beside Socrates yet, to the deep humiliation of Alcibiades, Socrates made no sexual attempt (219b-d).  In his speech, Alcibiades goes on to describe Socrates' virtues, his incomparable valor in battle, his immunity to cold or fear. On one occasion he even saved Alcibiades' life and then refused to accept honors for it (219e-221c). Socrates, he concludes, is unique in his ideas and accomplishments, unrivaled by any man from the past or present (221c). But be warned: Socrates may present himself as your lover, but before you know it you will have fallen in love with him.

Homosexuality.

The speeches revolve around same-sex love, specifically pederastic relationships between adult and adolescent males. Philosopher Alexander Nehamas said it is "a remarkable fact that the "Symposium", the first explicit discussion of love in western literature and philosophy, begins as a discussion of homosexual love". Queer studies professor Louis Crompton says that the speakers all assume that "serious love will usually mean love between men, generally love of an older for a younger male" but noted that the book reflected mixed opinions in ancient Greek society about whether such male love should be physical. Nods to the Symposium's importance in the Victorian era appear in E. M. Forster's novel "Maurice".

References.

Sources.

Current texts, translations, commentaries  Online translations

The Symposium (, "Sympósion" ) is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385–370 BC. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable men attending a banquet. The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and political figure Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The speeches are to be given in praise of Eros, the god of love and desire. In the "Symposium", Eros is recognized both as erotic love and as a phenomenon capable of inspiring courage, valor, great deeds and works, and vanquishing man's natural fear of death. It is seen as transcending its earthly origins and attaining spiritual heights. This extraordinary elevation of the concept of love raises a question of whether some of the most extreme extents of meaning might be intended as humor or farce. "Eros" is almost always translated as "love", and the English word has its own varieties and ambiguities that provide additional challenges to the effort to understand the "Eros" of ancient Athens.

Das Symposion ( "Sympósion" „Gastmahl“ oder „Trinkgelage“, latinisiert "Symposium") ist ein in Dialogform verfasstes Werk des griechischen Philosophen Platon. Darin berichtet ein Erzähler vom Verlauf eines Gastmahls, das schon mehr als ein Jahrzehnt zurückliegt. An jenem denkwürdigen Tag hielten die Teilnehmer der Reihe nach Reden über die Erotik. Sie hatten sich die Aufgabe gestellt, das Wirken des Gottes Eros zu würdigen. Dabei trugen sie von unterschiedlichen Ansätzen aus teils gegensätzliche Theorien vor. Jeder beleuchtete das Thema unter einem besonderen Aspekt. Es handelt sich nicht um einen Bericht über ein historisches Ereignis, sondern um einen fiktionalen, literarisch gestalteten Text.


History of the building.

The theatre was built between 1891 and 1892 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for a private society. It first opened on 24 September 1892 as ""Theater Unter den Linden"" with Adolf Ferron's operetta "Daphne" and Gaul and Haßreiter's ballet "Die Welt in Bild und Tanz".  The theatre was primarily a vehicle for operetta, but was also used for various other events and balls. Around 800 people could be seated in the stalls, and the balconies and various en-suite dinner rooms housed about a further 1,700 seats. Its directors went bankrupt in 1896 and the theatre was forced to close its doors.  On 3 September 1898 the theatre was reopened as "Metropol-Theater" with Julius Freund's revue "Paradies der Frauen". It then grew to become one of Berlin's most famous and successful variety theatres. During the 1920s and early 1930s, it was leased by the brothers Alfred and Fritz Rotter. Under their management, it saw the premieres of two operettas by Franz Lehár - "Friederike (opera)" in 1928 and Das Land des Lächelns in 1929, both starring Richard Tauber. However, due to a decline of variety and music hall entertainment the theatre was again closed in 1933.  In 1934 the theatre was nationalised and renamed "Staatliches Operettentheater". It operated as part of the Nazi "Kraft durch Freude" entertainment and leisure programmes. During World War II, the auditorium was damaged by Allied bombing on 7 May 1944. The façade, entrance hall, and auditorium ceiling murals were destroyed by bombs on 9 March 1945.  After the war, the theatre was in East Germany, being that the building was in the eastern part of Berlin. Following repair works and provisional rebuilding, the theatre reopened on 23 December 1947, as the "Komische Oper" with Johann Strauss's operetta "Die Fledermaus".  The 1950s saw various further alterations and extensions. The theatre was completely rebuilt in 1965/1966 by Architektenkollektiv Kunz Nierade, adding functional extensions and giving the theatre a completely new exterior. The theatre reopened again on 4 December 1966, with Mozart's "Don Giovanni". The auditorium underwent further restoration in 1986, and the stage technology was further modernised by 1989. Today the theatre seats 1,270.

The Komische Oper company.

In 1947, Walter Felsenstein founded and led the resident opera company, the "Komische Oper", until his death in 1975. Götz Friedrich was an assistant to Felsenstein at the company. Joachim Herz became general director after Felsenstein's death and served until 1981. Subsequently, Harry Kupfer directed the company for 21 seasons, until 2002. The company specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals. In 2007 the company won, jointly with Oper Bremen, the "Opera house of the year" award by the German magazine "Opernwelt". From 2002 to 2012, the company's chief director and "Intendant" was. In June 2008, the company announced the appointment of Barrie Kosky to succeed Homoki as its next "Intendant", as of the 2012/2013 season. In October 2014, his contract with the company was extended through 2022. Since 2005, the company's managing director has been Susanne Moser.  From 1966 to 2004, the theatre was also home to a resident ballet company – first as the "Tanztheater der Komischen Oper", and then from 1999 as "BerlinBallett – Komische Oper". In 2004, due to budgetary problems, the separate ballet companies of Berlin's three opera houses were merged into a single company called the Staatsballett Berlin.  Past General Music Directors (GMD) of the company have included Kurt Masur, Rolf Reuter, Yakov Kreizberg, Kirill Petrenko, Carl St.Clair, and Patrick Lange. Ainārs Rubiķis has been GMD from the 2018-2019 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation.

Die Komische Oper Berlin ist ein Opernhaus in der Behrenstraße im Berliner Ortsteil Mitte des gleichnamigen Bezirks. Sie ist die kleinste der drei Berliner Opernhäuser und mit der Deutschen Oper, der Staatsoper Unter den Linden sowie dem Staatsballett Berlin und dem Bühnenservice Berlin Teil der Stiftung Oper in Berlin.


History.

1974–78: Early career.

Inspired by the burgeoning new music scene at the Mercer Arts Center in Manhattan, Chris Stein sought to join a similar band. He joined the Stilettoes in 1973 as their guitarist and formed a romantic relationship with one of the band's vocalists, Debbie Harry, a former waitress and Playboy Bunny. Harry had been a member of a folk-rock band, The Wind in the Willows, in the late 1960s. In July 1974, Stein and Harry parted ways with the Stilettoes and Elda Gentile, the band's originator, forming a new band with ex-Stilettoes bandmates Billy O'Connor (drums; born October 4, 1953, Germany, died March 29, 2015, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and Fred Smith (bass). Originally billed as Angel and the Snake for two shows in August 1974, they renamed themselves Blondie by October 1974. The name derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry as they drove past.  By the spring of 1975, after some personnel turnover (including Ivan Kral on guitar and sisters Tish Bellomo and Snooky Bellomo on backing vocals), Stein and Harry were joined by drummer Clem Burke and bass player Gary Valentine (real name Gary Lachman). Blondie became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB. In June 1975, the band's first recording came in the way of a demo produced by Alan Betrock. To fill out their sound, they recruited keyboard player Jimmy Destri in November 1975. The band signed with Private Stock Records and their debut album, "Blondie", was issued in December 1976 but was initially not a commercial success. In September 1977, the band bought back its contract with Private Stock and signed with British label Chrysalis Records. The first album was re-released on the new label in October 1977. "Rolling Stone"'s review of the debut album observed the eclectic nature of the group's music, comparing it to Phil Spector and the Who, and commented that the album's two strengths were Richard Gottehrer's production and the persona of Debbie Harry. The publication said she performed with "utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she's portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending." It also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite within the same song".  The single reached number 2 in Australia, while the album reached the Australian top twenty in November 1977, and a subsequent double-A release of "X-Offender" and "Rip Her to Shreds" reached number 81. A successful Australian tour followed in December, though it was marred by an incident in Brisbane when disappointed fans almost rioted after Harry cancelled a performance due to illness.  In February 1978, Blondie released their second album, "Plastic Letters" (UK No. 10, US No. 78, Australia No. 64). The album was recorded as a four-piece as Gary Valentine had left the band in mid 1977. "Plastic Letters" was promoted extensively throughout Europe and Asia by Chrysalis Records. The album's first single, "Denis", was a cover version of the Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise". It reached number two on the British singles charts, while both the album and its second single, "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear", reached the British top ten. Chart success, along with a successful 1978 UK tour, including a gig at London's Roundhouse, made Blondie one of the first American new wave bands to achieve mainstream success in the United Kingdom. By this time, Gary Valentine had left and been replaced by Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar). With this lineup in place for a short time, British musician Nigel Harrison was hired as the group's full-time bassist, expanding Blondie to a six-piece for the first time in its history and thus allowing Infante to switch to guitar. The band's line-up had stabilized.

1978–81: Mainstream success.

Blondie's third album, "Parallel Lines" (UK No. 1, US No. 6, Australia No. 2), was released in September 1978. Produced by Mike Chapman, it finally broke the band into the American market on the strength of the worldwide hit single "Heart of Glass". "Parallel Lines" became the group's most successful album, selling 20 million copies worldwide. The album's first two singles were "Picture This" (UK No. 12) and "Hanging on the Telephone" (UK No. 5). Because the biggest hit from Blondie's previous album "Plastic Letters" was "Denis", a cover of Randy & The Rainbows' 1963 song "Denise", Chrysalis Records chose Buddy Holly's "I'm Gonna Love You Too" as the lead single from "Parallel Lines" in the United States. This turned out to be a miscalculation as the single failed to chart. The song was eventually released as a single in a few other countries in 1979.  "Heart of Glass" was released in early 1979 and the disco-infused track topped the UK charts in February 1979 and the US charts in April 1979. It was a reworking of a rock and reggae-influenced song that the group had performed since its formation in the mid 1970s, updated with strong elements of disco music. Clem Burke later said the revamped version was inspired partly by Kraftwerk and partly by the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive", whose drum beat Burke tried to emulate. He and Stein gave Jimmy Destri much of the credit for the final result, noting that Destri's appreciation of technology had led him to introduce synthesizers and to rework the keyboard sections. Although some critics condemned Blondie for "selling out" by dabbling in disco, the song became a monumental worldwide success and became one of the biggest selling singles of 1979. The song was accompanied by a music video filmed at a club in New York City (incorrectly surmised as being Studio 54 due to a shot of its exterior at the start of the video). The music video showcased Harry's hard-edged and playfully sexual character, as well as her famously stiff, marginally disinterested persona. She began to attain a celebrity status that set her apart from the other band members, who were largely ignored by the media.  Blondie's next single in the US was a more aggressive rock song, "One Way or Another" (US No. 24), though in the UK, an alternate single choice, "Sunday Girl", became a No. 1 hit. "Parallel Lines" is ranked No. 140 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest albums of all time. In June 1979, Blondie, photographed by Annie Leibovitz, was featured on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.  Blondie's fourth album, "Eat to the Beat" (UK No. 1, US No. 17, Australia No. 9), was released in September 1979. Though well received by critics as a suitable follow-up to "Parallel Lines", the album and its singles failed to achieve the same level of success in the US. In the UK, the album delivered three top 20 hits, including the band's third UK number one ("Atomic", UK No. 1, US No. 39). The lead track off the album, "Dreaming", narrowly missed the top spot in the UK, but only made it to number 27 in the US. "Union City Blue" (UK No. 13) was not released in the US in favor of the track "The Hardest Part". In a daring move, Chrysalis Records' Linda Carhart asked Jon Roseman Productions US division to shoot videos for every song and make it the first ever video album. David Mallet directed and Paul Flattery produced it at various locations and studios in and around New York.  Blondie's next single, the Grammy-nominated "Call Me", was the result of Debbie Harry's collaboration with the Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder, who had been responsible for Donna Summer's biggest hits. The track was recorded as the title theme of the Richard Gere film "American Gigolo". Released in February 1980 in the US, "Call Me" spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the US and Canada, reached No. 1 in the U.K. (where it was released in April 1980) and became a hit throughout the world. The single was also No. 1 on "Billboard" magazine's 1980 year-end chart. In the summer of 1980, the band appeared in a bit part in the film "Roadie" starring Meat Loaf. Blondie performed the Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire". The live recording was featured on the film soundtrack, and on a later CD reissue of the "Eat to the Beat" album.  In November 1980, Blondie's fifth studio album, "Autoamerican" (UK No. 3, US No. 7, Australia No. 8) was released; it contained two more No. 1 US hits: the reggae-styled "The Tide Is High", a cover version of a 1967 song written by John Holt of the Paragons, and the rap-flavored "Rapture", which was the first song featuring rapping to reach number one in the US. In the song Harry mentions the hip hop and graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy who also appears in the video for the song. "Autoamerican" featured a far wider stylistic range than previous Blondie albums, including the avant-garde instrumental "Europa", the acoustic jazz of "Faces", and "Follow Me" (from the Broadway show "Camelot"). The album went on to achieve platinum success in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

1981–82: Hiatus, "The Hunter", and breakup.

Following their success of 1978-80, Blondie took a brief break in 1981. That year, Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri both released solo albums; Stein worked on Harry's album "KooKoo" (UK No. 6, US No. 28) and Burke with Destri's "Heart on a Wall". Burke went to Europe to play drums on Eurythmics' debut album "In The Garden". Harry, Stein and Destri also worked together on music for the 1981 John Waters film "Polyester". Frank Infante sued the band regarding a lack of involvement during the "Autoamerican" sessions; it was settled out of court, and Infante remained in the band (though Harry has subsequently said Infante was not on the next LP, despite appearing on the front cover). Around this time Harry also was cultivating an acting career that included a high-profile appearance in 1980's "Roadie" and later David Cronenberg's "Videodrome" in 1982.  In October 1981, Chrysalis Records released "The Best of Blondie" (UK No. 4, US No. 30, Australia No. 1), the group's first greatest hits compilation. The band reconvened in late 1981 to record a new album, "The Hunter", released in May 1982 (UK No. 9, US No. 33, Australia No. 15). In contrast to their earlier commercial and critical successes, "The Hunter" was poorly received. The album did have two moderate hit singles: "Island of Lost Souls" (UK# 11, US No. 37, Australia No. 13) and "War Child" (UK No. 39). The album also included "For Your Eyes Only", a track the band had been commissioned to write and record for the 1981 James Bond film of the same name, but was rejected by the film's producers (the producers ultimately chose another song with that title that would be recorded by Sheena Easton).  For the brief North American tour (July–August 1982) to promote the "Hunter" album, guitarist Frank Infante was replaced with session musician Eddie Martinez. Also added to the live lineup were second keyboardist Abel Domingues, and a three-man horn section (Douglas Harris, Joseph Kohanski, and Arthur Pugh.) The concert tour was not particularly successful, with shows typically playing to less-than-capacity crowds.  With tensions within the band on the rise due to the act's commercial decline and the attendant financial pressures that brought, as well as the constant press focus on Harry to the exclusion of the other band members, events reached a breaking point when Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus.  As a result of Stein's illness, coupled with drug use by members of the band, financial mismanagement, and slow concert ticket sales, Blondie canceled their European tour plans early in August 1982. Shortly thereafter, the band broke up, with at least one (unspecified) member quitting and instigating lawsuits against the other group members. The band's breakup was announced publicly in November 1982.  Stein and Harry, still a couple at the time, stayed together and retreated from the public spotlight for a while. Harry made attempts to resume her solo career in the mid-1980s, but two singles (1983's "Rush Rush", from the film "Scarface", and 1985's "Feel The Spin") met with little success. Harry was forced to sell the couple's five-story mansion to pay off debts that the band had run up, Stein owed in excess of $1 million, and drug use was becoming an increasing problem for them both. Harry decided to end her intimate relationship with Stein and moved downtown. She stated in a 2006 interview that she felt she was having a sort of breakdown due to all the stress. After Stein recovered from his illness, Harry resumed her solo career with the album "Rockbird" in 1986, with active participation from Stein. The album was a moderate success in the UK where it reached gold certification and gave her a UK Top 10 hit with "French Kissin' in the USA". Meanwhile, Burke became a much-in-demand session drummer, playing and touring with Eurythmics for their 1986 album "Revenge", and Destri maintained an active career as a producer and session musician.  A remix album entitled "Once More into the Bleach" was released in 1988, and featured remixes of classic Blondie tracks and material from Harry's solo career.

1997–2007: Re-formation, "No Exit" and "The Curse of Blondie".

During the 1980s and 1990s, Blondie's past work began to be recognized again by a new generation of fans and artists including Garbage and No Doubt. Chrysalis/EMI Records also released several compilations and collections of remixed versions of some of its biggest hits.  Harry continued her moderately successful solo career after the band broke up, releasing albums in 1989 and 1993 which helped keep the band in the public eye. In 1990, she reunited with Stein and Burke for a summer tour of mid-sized venues as part of an "Escape from New York" package with Jerry Harrison, the Tom Tom Club and the Ramones.  In 1996, Stein and Harry began the process of reuniting Blondie and contacted original members Burke, Destri, and Valentine. Valentine had by this time moved to London and become a full-time writer under his real name, Gary Lachman; his "New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation" (2002) is a memoir of his years with the band. Former members Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante did not participate in the reunion, and they unsuccessfully sued to prevent the reunion under the name Blondie.  In 1997, the original five-piece band re-formed, including Valentine on bass, and did three live performances, all at outdoor festivals sponsored by local radio stations. Their first reunion performance occurred on May 31, 1997, when they played the HFStival at R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC. An international tour in late 1998 and early 1999 followed. During this period, they released a cover of Iggy Pop's song "Ordinary Bummer" on the tribute album "We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute" (1997) under the pseudonym "Adolph's Dog".  A new album, "No Exit" (UK No. 3, US No. 18), was released in February 1999. The band was now officially a four-piece, consisting of Harry, Stein, Burke and Destri. Valentine by this point had left the group, and did not play on the album or contribute to the writing of any songs (two songs on the album co-authored by "Valentine" were in fact co-authored by Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's, no relation to Gary Valentine). Session musicians Leigh Foxx (bass) and Paul Carbonara (guitar) played on this and subsequent Blondie releases.  "No Exit" reached number three on the UK charts, and the first single, "Maria", which Destri had written thinking about his high school days, became Blondie's sixth UK number one single exactly 20 years after their first chart-topper, "Heart of Glass". This gave the band the distinction of being one of only two American acts to reach number one in the UK singles charts in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (the other being Michael Jackson who had No. 1 hits with the Jacksons and solo in the same decades).  The reformed band released the follow-up album "The Curse of Blondie" (UK No. 36, US No. 160) in October 2003. "Curse" proved to be Blondie's lowest-charting album since their debut in 1976, although the single "Good Boys" managed to reach number 12 on the UK charts.  In 2004, Jimmy Destri left the group in order to deal with drug addiction, leaving Harry, Stein and Burke as the only members of the original line-up still with the band. Though Destri's stint in rehab was successful, he was not invited back into the band. He intended to work on their 2011 album "Panic Of Girls", but did not contribute as either a songwriter or a musician to the finished product.  In 2005 a new CD/DVD hits package titled "" was released, peaking at #48 in the UK.  Blondie co-headlined a tour with the New Cars in 2006, releasing a new song, a cover of Roxy Music hit "More than This", in support of the tour.

2008–12: Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour and "Panic of Girls".

On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Parallel Lines" with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 4, 2008 at Store Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired by attendances for the tour, Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both told interviewers in 2008 and 2009 that the band was working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of "The Curse of Blondie" in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record."  Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and the Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. After playing with the band for over a decade, both Leigh Foxx (bass) and Paul Carbonara (guitar) were elevated to official membership status with Blondie; keyboard player Matt Katz-Bohen, who had replaced Destri, was also made an official member, making Blondie a six-piece band.  In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday. The new album, to be titled "Panic of Girls", which was being mixed at the time, was said to be ready to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens would provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler (the finished "Panic of Girls" album credits both Kessler and Carbonara as official members).  In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming "Panic of Girls". After a break in July, the tour resumed in August and covered the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie then took the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November–December 2010, co-headlining with the Pretenders.  It was first revealed that the band's album was going to be released first in Australia on the Australian Sony label in December 2010, but Sony later backed out of the deal, leaving the album still unreleased. The album's release date was finally set for mid-2011 without the involvement of a major record label. The album was first released in May 2011 as a limited edition "fan pack" in the UK with a 132-page magazine and various collectible items, before being released as a regular CD later in the summer. The lead single, "Mother", was released beforehand as a free download. A music video for the song was released on May 18, 2011. It was directed by Laurent Rejto and features cameos by Kate Pierson from the B-52's, James Lorinz (Frankenhooker), Johnny Dynell, Chi-Chi Valenti, the Dazzle Dancers, Rob Roth, Barbara Sicuranza, Larry Fessenden, Alan Midgette (Andy's double), The Five Points Band, Guy Furrow, Kitty Boots and Hattie Hathaway. A second single from the album, "What I Heard", was available as a digital release in July 2011  On August 20, 2011, Blondie performed a live set for "Guitar Center Sessions" on DirecTV. The episode included an interview with program host Nic Harcourt.  The band continued to tour regularly into 2012. A concert in New York City was streamed live on YouTube on October 11, 2012. The same week, the band listed three previously unreleased songs recorded during the "Panic of Girls" sessions ("Bride of Infinity", "Rock On", and "Dead Air") on Amazon.com which were made available for free download in the United States, and in the UK via the band's official website. Another track, "Practice Makes Perfect", was also made available as a free download in November 2012.

2013–present: "Ghosts of Download" and "Pollinator".

On March 20, 2013, Harry and Stein were interviewed on the radio show WNYC Soundcheck in which they confirmed they were working on a new Blondie album and previewed a new song entitled "Make a Way". In June and July 2013, the band held a Blast Off Tour of Europe. The US "No Principals Tour" followed in September and October 2013. The first single from the album, "A Rose by Any Name", was released digitally in Europe on June 24, 2013. A second single, "Sugar on the Side", was released digitally in the United States in December 2013.  The album, "Ghosts of Download", was released in May 2014 as part of a two-disc package titled "Blondie 4(0) Ever" (to coincide with the band's 40th anniversary), which also includes "Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux", a compilation of re-recordings of Blondie's past singles. The band's official worldwide 40th anniversary tour began in February 2014. The band announced in the summer of 2015 they would be working on a new album produced by John Congleton. Other collaborators are Johnny Marr, Sia, Charli XCX and Dave Stewart. Blondie recorded a concert for PBS's "Soundstage" to be aired some time in 2016 and included two new tracks, "My Monster" and "Gravity".  In 2015, Blondie members Harry and Stein made a guest appearance alongside The Gregory Brothers in an episode of the YouTube series "Songify the News", where they collaborated again to parody the 2016 United States presidential election debates.  It was announced in January 2017 that the band would support Phil Collins on 25 June 2017 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium as part of his "Not Dead Yet" tour. The band also toured Australia and New Zealand on a co-headlining tour with Cyndi Lauper.  In the March 2017 issue of "Mojo" magazine, the band announced that their eleventh studio album, "Pollinator", would be released on May 5, 2017. The album was recorded at The Magic Shop in SoHo, New York City, and featured songs written by the likes of TV on the Radio's David Sitek, Johnny Marr, Sia, Charli XCX, and Dev Hynes. "Pollinator" spawned hit singles "Fun" and "Long Time" and embarked Blondie on an extensive promotional tour in North, Central and South America and Europe. It is Blondie's most successful album since "No Exit".  On 21 December 2019 Blondie announced through their social media that they would release an EP and mini-documentary entitled "Vivir en La Habana". It was recorded during the band's residency in Havana, Cuba, in March 2019, and directed by Rob Roth but no dates or further details were revealed yet.The EP is not entirely a "live" recording as Chris Stein, who was not present at the Havana concerts, added guitar parts in the studio to enhance the live tracks.

Style and legacy.

By 1982, the year the band initially broke up, Blondie had released six studio albums, each exhibiting a stylistic progression from the last. The band is known not only for the striking stage persona and vocal performances of Harry but also for incorporating elements in their work from numerous subgenres of music, reaching from their punk roots to embrace new wave, disco, pop, rap, and reggae.  In March 2006, Blondie, following an introductory speech by Shirley Manson of Garbage, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Seven members (Harry, Stein, Burke, Destri, Infante, Harrison and Valentine) were invited to the ceremony, which led to an on-stage spat between the extant group and their former bandmate Frank Infante, who asked during the live broadcast of the ceremony that he and Nigel Harrison be allowed to perform with the group, a request refused by Harry who stated that the band had already rehearsed their performance. On May 22, 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. New inductees are voted on by previous Rock Walk inductees.

Discography.

Studio albums

Blondie is an American rock band co-founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band were pioneers in the American punk and then the new wave scene of the mid-1970s in New York. Its first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although highly successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of "Parallel Lines" in 1978. Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High". The band became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, and early rap music.

Blondie ist eine US-amerikanische New-Wave-Band, die 1974 von Debbie Harry und Chris Stein in New York City gegründet wurde. Ihr größter Erfolg war 1979 "Heart of Glass".


Life.

Kummer was born in Sorau, Brandenburg (then part of Prussia). He was awarded a PhD from the University of Halle in 1831 for writing a prize-winning mathematical essay ("De cosinuum et sinuum potestatibus secundum cosinus et sinus arcuum multiplicium evolvendis"), which was eventually published a year later.  Kummer was married in 1840 to Ottilie Mendelssohn, daughter of Nathan Mendelssohn and Henriette Itzig. Ottilie was a cousin of Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Rebecca Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the wife of the mathematician Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet. His second wife (whom he married soon after the death of Ottilie in 1848), Bertha Cauer, was a maternal cousin of Ottilie. Overall, he had 13 children. His daughter Marie married the mathematician Hermann Schwarz. Kummer retired from teaching and from mathematics in 1890 and died three years later in Berlin.

Mathematics.

Kummer made several contributions to mathematics in different areas; he codified some of the relations between different hypergeometric series, known as contiguity relations. The Kummer surface results from taking the quotient of a two-dimensional abelian variety by the cyclic group {1, −1} (an early orbifold: it has 16 singular points, and its geometry was intensively studied in the nineteenth century).  Kummer also proved Fermat's last theorem for a considerable class of prime exponents (see regular prime, ideal class group). His methods were closer, perhaps, to p-adic ones than to ideal theory as understood later, though the term 'ideal' was invented by Kummer. He studied what were later called Kummer extensions of fields: that is, extensions generated by adjoining an "n"th root to a field already containing a primitive "n"th root of unity. This is a significant extension of the theory of quadratic extensions, and the genus theory of quadratic forms (linked to the 2-torsion of the class group). As such, it is still foundational for class field theory.  Kummer further conducted research in ballistics and, jointly with William Rowan Hamilton he investigated ray systems.

Ernst Eduard Kummer (29 January 1810 – 14 May 1893) was a German mathematician. Skilled in applied mathematics, Kummer trained German army officers in ballistics; afterwards, he taught for 10 years in a "gymnasium", the German equivalent of high school, where he inspired the mathematical career of Leopold Kronecker.

Ernst Eduard Kummer (* 29. Januar 1810 in Sorau, Niederlausitz; † 14. Mai 1893 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Mathematiker und Hochschullehrer, der sich vor allem mit Zahlentheorie, Analysis und Geometrie befasste.


Overview.

Many process industries, such as chemical plants, oil refineries and pulp and paper mills, require large amounts of process heat for such operations as chemical reactors, distillation columns, steam driers and other uses. This heat, which is usually used in the form of steam, can be generated at the typically low pressures used in heating, or can be generated at much higher pressure and passed through a turbine first to generate electricity. In the turbine the steam pressure and temperature is lowered as the internal energy of the steam is converted to work. The lower pressure steam leaving the turbine can then be used for process heat.  Steam turbines at thermal power stations are normally designed to be fed high pressure steam, which exits the turbine at a condenser operating a few degrees above ambient temperature and at a few millimeters of mercury absolute pressure. (This is called a "condensing" turbine.) For all practical purposes this steam has negligible useful energy before it is condensed. Steam turbines for cogeneration are designed either for "extraction" of some steam at lower pressures after it has passed through a number of turbine stages, with the un-extracted steam going on through the turbine to a condenser. In this case, the extracted steam causes a mechanical power loss in the downstream stages of the turbine. Or they are designed, with or without extraction, for final exhaust at "back pressure" (non-condensing). The extracted or exhaust steam is used for process heating. Steam at ordinary process heating conditions still has a considerable amount of enthalpy that could be used for power generation, so cogeneration has an opportunity cost.  A typical power generation turbine in a paper mill may have extraction pressures of 160 psig (1.103 MPa) and 60 psig (0.41 MPa). A typical back pressure may be 60 psig (0.41 MPa). In practice these pressures are custom designed for each facility. Conversely, simply generating process steam for industrial purposes instead of high enough pressure to generate power at the top end also has an opportunity cost (See: Steam supply and exhaust conditions). The capital and operating cost of high pressure boilers, turbines and generators are substantial. This equipment is normally operated continuously, which usually limits self-generated power to large-scale operations.  A combined cycle (in which several thermodynamic cycles produce electricity), may also be used to extract heat using a heating system as condenser of the power plant's bottoming cycle. For example, the RU-25 MHD generator in Moscow heated a boiler for a conventional steam powerplant, whose condensate was then used for space heat. A more modern system might use a gas turbine powered by natural gas, whose exhaust powers a steam plant, whose condensate provides heat. Cogeneration plants based on a combined cycle power unit can have thermal efficiencies above 80%.  The viability of CHP (sometimes termed utilisation factor), especially in smaller CHP installations, depends on a good baseload of operation, both in terms of an on-site (or near site) electrical demand and heat demand. In practice, an exact match between the heat and electricity needs rarely exists. A CHP plant can either meet the need for heat ("heat driven operation") or be run as a power plant with some use of its waste heat, the latter being less advantageous in terms of its utilisation factor and thus its overall efficiency. The viability can be greatly increased where opportunities for trigeneration exist. In such cases, the heat from the CHP plant is also used as a primary energy source to deliver cooling by means of an absorption chiller.  CHP is most efficient when heat can be used on-site or very close to it. Overall efficiency is reduced when the heat must be transported over longer distances. This requires heavily insulated pipes, which are expensive and inefficient; whereas electricity can be transmitted along a comparatively simple wire, and over much longer distances for the same energy loss.  A car engine becomes a CHP plant in winter when the reject heat is useful for warming the interior of the vehicle. The example illustrates the point that deployment of CHP depends on heat uses in the vicinity of the heat engine.  Thermally enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) plants often produce a substantial amount of excess electricity. After generating electricity, these plants pump leftover steam into heavy oil wells so that the oil will flow more easily, increasing production. TEOR cogeneration plants in Kern County, California produce so much electricity that it cannot all be used locally and is transmitted to Los Angeles.  CHP is one of the most cost-efficient methods of reducing carbon emissions from heating systems in cold climates and is recognized to be the most energy efficient method of transforming energy from fossil fuels or biomass into electric power. Cogeneration plants are commonly found in district heating systems of cities, central heating systems of larger buildings (e.g. hospitals, hotels, prisons) and are commonly used in the industry in thermal production processes for process water, cooling, steam production or CO fertilization.

Types of plants.

Topping cycle plants primarily produce electricity from a steam turbine. Partly expanded steam is then condensed in a heating condensor at a temperature level that is suitable e.g. district heating or water desalination.  Bottoming cycle plants produce high temperature heat for industrial processes, then a waste heat recovery boiler feeds an electrical plant. Bottoming cycle plants are only used in industrial processes that require very high temperatures such as furnaces for glass and metal manufacturing, so they are less common.  Large cogeneration systems provide heating water and power for an industrial site or an entire town. Common CHP plant types are:  Smaller cogeneration units may use a reciprocating engine or Stirling engine. The heat is removed from the exhaust and radiator. The systems are popular in small sizes because small gas and diesel engines are less expensive than small gas- or oil-fired steam-electric plants.  Some cogeneration plants are fired by biomass, or industrial and municipal solid waste (see incineration). Some CHP plants utilize waste gas as the fuel for electricity and heat generation. Waste gases can be gas from animal waste, landfill gas, gas from coal mines, sewage gas, and combustible industrial waste gas.  Some cogeneration plants combine gas and solar photovoltaic generation to further improve technical and environmental performance. Such hybrid systems can be scaled down to the building level and even individual homes.

MicroCHP.

Micro combined heat and power or 'Micro cogeneration" is a so-called distributed energy resource (DER). The installation is usually less than 5 kW in a house or small business. Instead of burning fuel to merely heat space or water, some of the energy is converted to electricity in addition to heat. This electricity can be used within the home or business or, if permitted by the grid management, sold back into the electric power grid.  Delta-ee consultants stated in 2013 that with 64% of global sales the fuel cell micro-combined heat and power passed the conventional systems in sales in 2012. 20.000 units were sold in Japan in 2012 overall within the Ene Farm project. With a Lifetime of around 60,000 hours. For PEM fuel cell units, which shut down at night, this equates to an estimated lifetime of between ten and fifteen years. For a price of $22,600 before installation. For 2013 a state subsidy for 50,000 units is in place.  MicroCHP installations use five different technologies: microturbines, internal combustion engines, stirling engines, closed cycle steam engines and fuel cells. One author indicated in 2008 that MicroCHP based on Stirling engines is the most cost-effective of the so-called microgeneration technologies in abating carbon emissions; A 2013 UK report from Ecuity Consulting stated that MCHP is the most cost-effective method of utilising gas to generate energy at the domestic level. However, advances in reciprocation engine technology are adding efficiency to CHP plant, particularly in the biogas field. As both MiniCHP and CHP have been shown to reduce emissions they could play a large role in the field of CO reduction from buildings, where more than 14% of emissions can be saved using CHP in buildings. The University of Cambridge reported a cost-effective steam engine MicroCHP prototype in 2017 which has the potential to be commercially competitive in the following decades. Quite recently, in some private homes, fuel cell micro-CHP plants can now be found, which can operate on hydrogen, or other fuels as natural gas or LPG. When running on natural gas, it relies on steam reforming of natural gas to convert the natural gas to hydrogen prior to use in the fuel cell. This hence still emits (see reaction) but (temporarily) running on this can be a good solution until the point where the hydrogen is starting to be become distributed through the (natural gas) piping system.

Trigeneration.

A plant producing electricity, heat and cold is called a trigeneration or polygeneration plant. Cogeneration systems linked to absorption chillers or adsorption chillers use waste heat for refrigeration.

Combined heat and power district heating.

In the United States, Consolidated Edison distributes 66 billion kilograms of 350 °F (180 °C) steam each year through its seven cogeneration plants to 100,000 buildings in Manhattan—the biggest steam district in the United States. The peak delivery is 10 million pounds per hour (or approximately 2.5 GW).

Industrial CHP.

Cogeneration is still common in pulp and paper mills, refineries and chemical plants. In this "industrial cogeneration/CHP", the heat is typically recovered at higher temperatures (above 100 deg C) and used for process steam or drying duties. This is more valuable and flexible than low-grade waste heat, but there is a slight loss of power generation. The increased focus on sustainability has made industrial CHP more attractive, as it substantially reduces carbon footprint compared to generating steam or burning fuel on-site and importing electric power from the grid.

Utility pressures versus self generated industrial.

Industrial cogeneration plants normally operate at much lower boiler pressures than utilities. Among the reasons are: 1) Cogeneration plants face possible contamination of returned condensate. Because boiler feed water from cogeneration plants has much lower return rates than 100% condensing power plants, industries usually have to treat proportionately more boiler make up water. Boiler feed water must be completely oxygen free and de-mineralized, and the higher the pressure the more critical the level of purity of the feed water. 2) Utilities are typically larger scale power than industry, which helps offset the higher capital costs of high pressure. 3) Utilities are less likely to have sharp load swings than industrial operations, which deal with shutting down or starting up units that may represent a significant percent of either steam or power demand.

Heat recovery steam generators.

A heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is a steam boiler that uses hot exhaust gases from the gas turbines or reciprocating engines in a CHP plant to heat up water and generate steam. The steam, in turn, drives a steam turbine or is used in industrial processes that require heat.  HRSGs used in the CHP industry are distinguished from conventional steam generators by the following main features:

Cogeneration using biomass.

Biomass is emerging as one of the most important sources of renewable energy. Biomass refers to any plant or animal matter in which it is possible to be reused as a source of heat or electricity, such as sugarcane, vegetable oils, wood, organic waste and residues from the food or agricultural industries. Brazil is now considered a world reference in terms of energy generation from biomass.  A growing sector in the use of biomass for power generation is the sugar and alcohol sector, which mainly uses sugarcane bagasse as fuel for thermal and electric power generation

Power cogeneration in the sugar and alcohol sector.

In the sugarcane industry, cogeneration is fuelled by the bagasse residue of sugar refining, which is burned to produce steam. Some steam can be sent through a turbine that turns a generator, producing electric power.  Energy cogeneration in sugarcane industries located in Brazil is a practice that has been growing in last years. With the adoption of energy cogeneration in the sugar and alcohol sector, the sugarcane industries are able to supply the electric energy demand needed to operate, and generate a surplus that can be commercialized.

Advantages of the cogeneration using sugarcane bagasse.

In comparison with the electric power generation by means of fossil fuel-based thermoelectric plants, such as natural gas, the energy generation using sugarcane bagasse has environmental advantages due to the reduction of CO2 emissions.  In addition to the environmental advantages, cogeneration using sugarcane bagasse presents advantages in terms of efficiency comparing to thermoelectric generation, through the final destination of the energy produced. While in thermoelectric generation, part of the heat produced is lost, in cogeneration this heat has the possibility of being used in the production processes, increasing the overall efficiency of the process.

Disadvantages of the cogeneration using sugarcane bagasse.

In sugarcane cultivation, is usually used potassium source's containing high concentration of chlorine, such as potassium chloride (KCl). Considering that KCl is applied in huge quantities, sugarcane ends up absorbing high concentrations of chlorine.  Due to this absorption, when the sugarcane bagasse is burned in the power cogeneration, dioxins and methyl chloride ends up being emitted. In the case of dioxins, these substances are considered very toxic and cancerous.  In the case of methyl chloride, when this substance is emitted and reaches the stratosphere, it ends up being very harmful for the ozone layer, since chlorine when combined with the ozone molecule generates a catalytic reaction leading to the breakdown of ozone links.  After each reaction, chlorine starts a destructive cycle with another ozone molecule. In this way, a single chlorine atom can destroy thousands of ozone molecules. As these molecules are being broken, they are unable to absorb the ultraviolet rays. As a result, the UV radiation is more intense on Earth and there is a worsening of global warming.

Comparison with a heat pump.

A heat pump may be compared with a CHP unit as follows. If, to supply thermal energy, the exhaust steam from the turbo-generator must be taken at a higher temperature than the system would produce most electricity at, the lost electrical generation is "as if" a heat pump were used to provide the same heat by taking electrical power from the generator running at lower output temperature and higher efficiency. Typically for every unit of electrical power lost, then about 6 units of heat are made available at about 90 °C. Thus CHP has an effective Coefficient of Performance (COP) compared to a heat pump of 6. However, for a remotely operated heat pump, losses in the electrical distribution network would need to be considered, of the order of 6%. Because the losses are proportional to the square of the current, during peak periods losses are much higher than this and it is likely that widespread (i.e. citywide application of heat pumps) would cause overloading of the distribution and transmission grids unless they were substantially reinforced.  It is also possible to run a heat driven operation combined with a heat pump, where the excess electricity (as heat demand is the defining factor on utilization) is used to drive a heat pump. As heat demand increases, more electricity is generated to drive the heat pump, with the waste heat also heating the heating fluid.

Distributed generation.

Most industrial countries generate the majority of their electrical power needs in large centralized facilities with capacity for large electrical power output. These plants benefit from economy of scale, but may need to transmit electricity across long distances causing transmission losses. Cogeneration or trigeneration production is subject to limitations in the local demand, and thus may sometimes need to reduce e.g. heat or cooling production to match the demand. An example of cogeneration with trigeneration applications in a major city is the New York City steam system.

Thermal efficiency.

Every heat engine is subject to the theoretical efficiency limits of the Carnot cycle or subset Rankine cycle in the case of steam turbine power plants or Brayton cycle in gas turbine with steam turbine plants. Most of the efficiency loss with steam power generation is associated with the latent heat of vaporization of steam that is not recovered when a turbine exhausts its low temperature and pressure steam to a condenser. (Typical steam to condenser would be at a few millimeters absolute pressure and on the order of 5 °C/11 °F hotter than the cooling water temperature, depending on the condenser capacity.) In cogeneration this steam exits the turbine at a higher temperature where it may be used for process heat, building heat or cooling with an absorption chiller. The majority of this heat is from the latent heat of vaporization when the steam condenses.  Thermal efficiency in a cogeneration system is defined as:  Where:  Heat output may be used also for cooling (for example in Summer), thanks to an absorption chiller. If cooling is achieved in the same time, Thermal efficiency in a trigeneration system is defined as:  Where:  Typical cogeneration models have losses as in any system. The energy distribution below is represented as a percent of total input energy:  Conventional central coal- or nuclear-powered power stations convert about 33-45% of their input heat to electricity. Brayton cycle power plants operate at up to 60% efficiency. In the case of conventional power plants approximately 10-15% of this heat is lost up the stack of the boiler, most of the remaining heat emerges from the turbines as low-grade waste heat with no significant local uses so it is usually rejected to the environment, typically to cooling water passing through a condenser. Because turbine exhaust is normally just above ambient temperature, some potential power generation is sacrificed in rejecting higher temperature steam from the turbine for cogeneration purposes.  For cogeneration to be practical power generation and end use of heat must be in relatively close proximity (<2 km typically). Even though the efficiency of a small distributed electrical generator may be lower than a large central power plant, the use of its waste heat for local heating and cooling can result in an overall use of the primary fuel supply as great as 80%. This provides substantial financial and environmental benefits.

Costs.

Typically, for a gas-fired plant the fully installed cost per kW electrical is around £400/kW (US$577), which is comparable with large central power stations.

History.

Cogeneration in Europe.

The EU has actively incorporated cogeneration into its energy policy via the CHP Directive. In September 2008 at a hearing of the European Parliament's Urban Lodgment Intergroup, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs is quoted as saying, “security of supply really starts with energy efficiency.” Energy efficiency and cogeneration are recognized in the opening paragraphs of the European Union's Cogeneration Directive 2004/08/EC. This directive intends to support cogeneration and establish a method for calculating cogeneration abilities per country. The development of cogeneration has been very uneven over the years and has been dominated throughout the last decades by national circumstances.  The European Union generates 11% of its electricity using cogeneration. However, there is large difference between Member States with variations of the energy savings between 2% and 60%. Europe has the three countries with the world's most intensive cogeneration economies: Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland. Of the 28.46 TWh of electrical power generated by conventional thermal power plants in Finland in 2012, 81.80% was cogeneration.  Other European countries are also making great efforts to increase efficiency. Germany reported that at present, over 50% of the country's total electricity demand could be provided through cogeneration. So far, Germany has set the target to double its electricity cogeneration from 12.5% of the country's electricity to 25% of the country's electricity by 2020 and has passed supporting legislation accordingly. The UK is also actively supporting combined heat and power. In light of UK's goal to achieve a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, the government has set the target to source at least 15% of its government electricity use from CHP by 2010. Other UK measures to encourage CHP growth are financial incentives, grant support, a greater regulatory framework, and government leadership and partnership.  According to the IEA 2008 modeling of cogeneration expansion for the G8 countries, the expansion of cogeneration in France, Germany, Italy and the UK alone would effectively double the existing primary fuel savings by 2030. This would increase Europe's savings from today's 155.69 Twh to 465 Twh in 2030. It would also result in a 16% to 29% increase in each country's total cogenerated electricity by 2030.  Governments are being assisted in their CHP endeavors by organizations like COGEN Europe who serve as an information hub for the most recent updates within Europe's energy policy. COGEN is Europe's umbrella organization representing the interests of the cogeneration industry.  The European public–private partnership Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Seventh Framework Programme project ene.field deploys in 2017 up 1,000 residential fuel cell Combined Heat and Power (micro-CHP) installations in 12 states. Per 2012 the first 2 installations have taken place.

Cogeneration in the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, the "Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance" scheme regulates the combined production of heat and power. It was introduced in 1996. It defines, through calculation of inputs and outputs, "Good Quality CHP" in terms of the achievement of primary energy savings against conventional separate generation of heat and electricity. Compliance with Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance is required for cogeneration installations to be eligible for government subsidies and tax incentives.

Cogeneration in the United States.

Perhaps the first modern use of energy recycling was done by Thomas Edison. His 1882 Pearl Street Station, the world's first commercial power plant, was a combined heat and power plant, producing both electricity and thermal energy while using waste heat to warm neighboring buildings. Recycling allowed Edison's plant to achieve approximately 50 percent efficiency.  By the early 1900s, regulations emerged to promote rural electrification through the construction of centralized plants managed by regional utilities. These regulations not only promoted electrification throughout the countryside, but they also discouraged decentralized power generation, such as cogeneration.  By 1978, Congress recognized that efficiency at central power plants had stagnated and sought to encourage improved efficiency with the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), which encouraged utilities to buy power from other energy producers.  Cogeneration plants proliferated, soon producing about 8% of all energy in the United States. However, the bill left implementation and enforcement up to individual states, resulting in little or nothing being done in many parts of the country.  The United States Department of Energy has an aggressive goal of having CHP constitute 20% of generation capacity by the year 2030. Eight Clean Energy Application Centers have been established across the nation whose mission is to develop the required technology application knowledge and educational infrastructure necessary to lead "clean energy" (combined heat and power, waste heat recovery and district energy) technologies as viable energy options and reduce any perceived risks associated with their implementation. The focus of the Application Centers is to provide an outreach and technology deployment program for end users, policy makers, utilities, and industry stakeholders.  High electric rates in New England and the Middle Atlantic make these areas of the United States the most beneficial for cogeneration.

Applications in power generation systems.

Non-renewable.

Any of the following conventional power plants may be converted to a combined cooling, heat and power system:

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Trigeneration or combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) refers to the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heating and cooling from the combustion of a fuel or a solar heat collector. The terms "cogeneration" and "trigeneration" can be also applied to the power systems generating simultaneously electricity, heat, and industrial chemicals – e.g., syngas or pure hydrogen (article: combined cycles, chapter: natural gas integrated power & syngas (hydrogen) generation cycle).

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