Why does Rosalía’s song ‘Berghain’ feature a symphony orchestra and German opera?

28 October 2025, 16:44 | Updated: 3 November 2025, 15:29

Spanish pop megastar Rosalía flexes her classical training, as she teams up with the renowned London Symphony Orchestra for her new album.

The Spanish popstar Rosalía has been known in the past to inject moments of classical music into her songs. For instance, the track ‘SAOKO’ from her last album includes a jazzy piano break between choruses.

However, it appears Rosalía is going all-out classical for the lead single from her upcoming album, LUX, titled ‘Berghain’.

Featuring the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Bjarnason, the song sees Rosalía channel the dramatic strings of Vivaldi whilst singing operatically in German. Here’s all you need to know...

Who is Rosalía and what does the song ‘Berghain’ mean?

Rosalía is one of the most successful Spanish popstars in recent memory and is known for mixing genres from hip-hop to reggaeton. She was the first Spanish-singing performer to be nominated for the Best New Artist category at the Grammys.

In 2019 she drew a crowd of over 170,000 people at the NOS Primavera Sound Festival – the biggest in the event’s history.

Read more: 10 K-pop songs you didn’t know were based on classical music

Is Rosalía classically trained?

Before her career, Rosalía spent over 10 years learning the artform of Flamenco at the prestigious Escola Superior School of Music, of Catalonia.

The school would later reunite with Rosalía to present a scholarship for the student who won the only place in the Flamenco Singing Degree.

Fiery Piazzolla ‘Libertango’ – Miloš Karadaglić and Ksenija Sidorova at Classic FM Live

Flamenco is founded from different folk traditions in Spain and is often played on guitar along with dancing and singing. The musical style originates in a cappella singing punctuated by hand-clapping, body percussion and castanets to mark the beat. It is more recognised now for the dancing style that accompanies the music.

The most common form of Flamenco is the Tango, which has roots in African and Caribbean music and consists of a four-beat rhythm where the first beat is weaker than the rest.

What does ‘Berghain’ sound like?

The single opens with rapid-fire violin fireworks from the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Bjarnason, with a drama akin to Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ that showcases the LSO’s expansive and dramatic range.

Rosalía teased the single by uploading a cryptic picture of sheet music to her SUBSTACK website, along with a video of a black-clothed orchestra following her down a street. Despite still not revealing the track name, fans were intrigued to see the word ‘Baroque’ written next to a tempo mark of 108.

ROSALÍA - Berghain (Official Video) feat. Björk & Yves Tumor

After a week’s wait, Rosalía dropped the single ‘Berghain’ along with the video which was recorded in Warsaw by director Nicolas Mendez. In it, Rosalía plays a widower who is followed by the same orchestra from the teaser as she goes about her day.

The piece begins with the roaring strings of the LSO before the dramatic choir Escolania de Montserrat i Cor Cambra Palau de la Música Catalana sing the chorus.

Rosalía sings the first two verses in German, one of the thirteen languages she speaks on the new album.

During her MOTOMAMI tour in 2022, she addressed the crowd in Berlin in German.

What does ‘Berghain’ mean?

The word ‘Berghain’ is the name of a famously elusive nightclub in Berlin, Germany. The club was recently accused of cancelling a gig with French Lebanese DJ Arabian Panther over their pro-Palestine stance.

Rosalía is yet to explain the choice in title.

Rosalía has described the music as tracing a “widescreen emotional arc of feminine mystiques, transformation, and transcendence”. Her aim, she says, is to “create a radiant world where sounds, language, and culture fuse as one”.

Throughout the video, Rosalía struggles with her grief before finding peace in spiritually after an encounter with Björk in a forest.

Have Björk and Rosalía collaborated before?

The single also continues the collaboration between the Latin popstar with the Icelandic singer Björk. Their first single as a pair was in 2023 with the track ‘Oral’.

Björk herself is no stranger to blending pop and classical music. Her tour Björk Orkestral was a massive success, and she composed the music for the movie musical Dancer in the Dark.

On her Instagram, Björk said: “It is so thrilling to see this woman grow.”

What is the English translation of ‘Berghain’?

[GERMAN]

Seine Angst ist meine Angst
Seine Wut ist meine Wut
Seine Liebe ist meine Liebe
Sein Blut ist mein Blut

[ENGLISH]

His fear is my fear
His anger is my anger
His love is my love
His blood is my blood

[GERMAN]

Die Flamme dringt in mein Gehirn ein
Wie ein Blei-Teddybär
Ich bewahre viele Dinge in meinem Herzen auf
Deshalb ist mein Herz so schwer

[ENGLISH]

The flame penetrates my brain
Like a lead teddy bear
I keep many things in my heart
That’s why my heart is so heavy

[GERMAN]

Seine Angst ist meine Angst
Seine Wut ist meine Wut
Seine Liebe ist meine Liebe
Sein Blut ist mein Blut

[ENGLISH]

His fear is my fear
His anger is my anger
His love is my love
His blood is my blood

[GERMAN]

Yo sé muy bien lo que soy
Ternura pa’l café
Solo soy un terrón de azúcar
Sé que me funde el calor
Sé desaparecer
Cuando tú vienes es cuando me voy

[ENGLISH]

I know very well what I am
Tenderness for coffee
I’m just a sugar cube
I know that the heat melts me
I know how to disappear
When you come, that’s when I leave

Rosalía’s new album drops on 7 November and will feature more collaborations with the renowned London Symphony Orchestra, one of Classic FM’s official partners. Fingers crossed for a Rosalía film score next...