Forty of the world’s most prominent musicians published an open letter in several Berlin newspapers protesting the Berlin government’s proposal to merge the operations of the Staatsoper in east Berlin, which dates back more than 250 years, with those of the modern Deutsche Oper. “The signatories included the tenor Placido Domingo and the conductors Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink. ‘As artists who know the Staatsoper, we appeal to you not to destroy the traditions that have been developed’.” – The Guardian