World-class opera in olde-worlde-style elegance Berlin's oldest opera house, the Staatsoper, goes back to 1742 (architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff ), though this was rebuilt in 1844 following devastation by fire the previous year. The current neoclassical-style structure in the Unter den Linden, with some of the historical detail intact, dates from 1955 following fatal blows during the Second World War. A further dramatic twist came in 2010, when the company temporarily moved house from its über-central Unter den Linden location in Mitte to the Schiller Theater in Charlottenburg to accommodate extensive renovations, which are due to be completed by 2015, when it will return to Mitte and reclaim its proper moniker Staatsoper unter den Linden. And with this move to Charlottenburg, Berlin's two opera houses are now both based on Bismarckstraße, with the Deutsche Oper just down the road at number 35. Renowned Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim has served as music director since 1992. U-Bahns: Ernst-Reuter-Platz and Deutsche Oper.