Berlin - The German-born director of the Salzburg Festival, Juergen Flimm, has been appointed to the prestigious post of manager of Berlin's showcase opera house, the Staatsoper, officials announced Monday.

Announcing the 67-year-old Flimm's appointment, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit praised him as a major force in the German-speaking theatre world.

Flimm takes over the job from Peter Mossbach, who after a period of tension with the opera's musical director Daniel Barenboim announced earlier this year that he was stepping down.

As the Staatsoper's new manager, Flimm will also have to guide the opera house, which resides on Berlin's historic Unter den Linden boulevard, through a period of upheaval as it undergoes a major renovation which is scheduled to begin in 2010. Flimm takes up his appointment in September 2010.

He headed leading theatres across Germany before eventually taking up his post as manager of the Salzburg Festival in 2006.

He has also produced works for the world's leading opera houses, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera and London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Eight years ago Flimm produced a new Ring cycle for the Bayreuth Wagner Festival. (dpa)