Roland Berger Strategy Consultants sponsors Bavarian State Opera as exclusive partner for world premieres

• Roland Berger Strategy Consultants strengthens its collaboration with the Bavarian State Opera – Now the exclusive sponsor of world premieres
• After last year's "Make no noise" by Miroslav Srnka, the second joint project under this arrangement is Jörg Widmann's opera "Babylon" – scheduled to open in October 2012
• Founder Roland Berger plays an active role in the "Premium Circle", having co-initiated this high-level network of supporters of the prestigious opera company in 2002

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Bavarian State Opera have strengthened their longstanding cooperation. The strategy consultancy actively supports new productions in its role as partner for world premieres. The exclusive partnership for world premieres was agreed upon with the opera company last year. After "Make no noise" by Miroslav Srnka in 2011, the second collaborative project under this arrangement is the opera "Babylon" by Jörg Widmann, conducted by Kent Nagano. The new work, with a libretto by the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, is scheduled to open on October 27, 2012 in Munich.

"We're very proud to be supporting the Bavarian State Opera in the role of exclusive partner for world premieres," says Dr. Martin C. Wittig, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Along with other commitments, the partnership is intended to build bridges between business and the arts. This makes perfect sense: "Engaging with music and other forms of artistic expression opens new ways of seeing and fosters creativity. And creativity is essential when we develop strategies for leading businesses," explains Berger CEO Wittig.

Ancient Babylon: Parallels with the present

Work is under way on "Babylon", a new opera by Munich-based composer Jörg Widmann. The Bavarian State Opera will perform the world premiere on October 27, 2012. The production draws parallels between ancient Babylon and the present. "Babylon" is the second new work sponsored by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants under its partnership with the renowned opera company. "World premieres demand exceptional creativity and a unique contribution by composers, dramatists and everyone involved," notes chief strategist Wittig. "We are delighted to be able to help them implement such challenging and innovative ideas on a highly professional level."

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants will again be sponsoring a world premiere in 2013 – this time as exclusive partner to "Written on Skin", an opera by George Benjamin. The opera's libretto comes from British dramatist Martin Crimp. The debut performance is planned for July 2013, after which more such collaborations are envisaged.

Building a long and successful partnership

The international strategy consultancy's new commitment represents another milestone in a long and successful history of cooperation with the famous opera house. Its support for the Bavarian State Opera in the form of partnerships and sponsoring goes back to 2002. Founder Roland Berger was a co-initiator of the Premium Circle – an exclusive group of corporate and institutional friends of the Bavarian State Opera who organize donations and collaborations. "Sponsorship of the arts creates a classic win-win situation for both sides. The creative people in the arts benefit because, otherwise, many of their projects just wouldn't be realized," explains Prof. Dr. h.c. Roland Berger, founder and Honorary Chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "And, for their part, the companies involved are able to enhance their reputation and raise their market value." Roland Berger sees the opera company as an excellent choice of partner: "If you want to offer distinguished guests an unforgettable evening, there's hardly anything better than a visit to the Bavarian State Opera." For the tenth time to date, the opera company and Roland Berger jointly invited the patrons of the Premium Circle to attend an exclusive event this year. This event featured high-caliber speakers on business and arts-related topics.

The strategy consultancy has supported a number of other projects and programs of the Bavarian State Opera. It was a cooperation partner of Festspiel+, the avant-garde program at the Munich Opera Festival in 2005. Under this arrangement, the consultancy's own people were able to play an active role in Maxim Seloujanov's innovative new opera "Tele-Machia". In 2006, the opera team and the consultants again joined forces to launch the "Young Leadership Program". The project was designed to give young trainee managers a taste of running an arts business. They had a chance to learn the management skills needed in this field.