The Berliner Operngruppe e.V. was founded in 2010 by the conductor Felix Krieger in order to present operas in Berlin that stand outside the usual opera repertoire and have either never been heard here or have not been heard for many decades. After the first performances in Radialsystem V, the Berliner Operngruppe has been performing in the Konzerthaus Berlin with its project choir and orchestra since 2013. The highly regarded semi-staged productions by the Berliner Operngruppe include the German premiere of Donizetti’s Betly and the Berlin premiere of Verdi’s Stiffelio and Puccini’s Edgar. 

In February 2020 the Berliner Operngruppe celebrated its 10th anniversary with this Iris. 

Steffen Schubert studied conducting in Berlin and Bloomington, USA. In 1992, he was hired by the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, initially as an assistant to the choirmaster, later as a répétiteur. After 1995, he was also regularly the assistant to the choirmaster at the Bayreuth Festival. As a song accompanist, Steffen attended master classes held by Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, also holding recitals with René Kollo. In 1998, he went to the Provincial Theatre in Salzburg as the choirmaster and conductor. During this time, he also looked after the Salzburg Bach Choir at the Salzburg Festival. In the following years, he also worked as a guest with the choirs of Zürich Opera House, the Metropol Theatre in Berlin, North German Radio and West German Radio. Since 2009, Steffen Schubert has been the artistic director of the Ernst Senff Choir in Berlin.