The Berlin State Opera originated with the establishment by Elector Joachim II of his "Kurfurstliche Hofkapelle" (Electoral Court Ensemble), formally organized in 1570. By the early 17th century the orchestra numbered 37 players, becoming one of the largest in Europe, but during the Thirty Years' War it shrank to just seven players. It slowly recovered, now as an ensemble mostly of strings. In 1696, Elector Friedrich III established the first regular opera in Berlin, using the Hofkapelle as its orchestra.

In 1701, Brandenburg became the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Elector became King Friedrich I. Its musical establishment was enlarged and named "Königliche Kapelle" (Royal Ensemble), but with the accession of King Friedrich Wilhelm I in 1713 the group dwindled to a small brass band used for hunting and parades.

The next king, Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) brought in excellent musicians to serve as his Kapellmeister, including Quantz and C.P.E. Bach. His lovely Royal Opera House on Unter den Linden, built in 1742, was strictly for the court and military officers. It has been destroyed by fire and war more than once, but rebuilt each time, and it still serves as the home of the opera and the orchestra.

From the beginning of the new century the orchestra began giving public concerts which, from 1821, were played at the Gendarmenmarkt Theater.

There were only sporadic concerts until 1842 when Kapellmeister Giacomo Meyerbeer organized regular subscription concert series. The orchestra's series remained limited and highly conservative by comparison with those of the Berlin Philharmonic Society (founded 1826 and organized as a professional orchestra in 1882) until conductor Felix Weingartner, appointed to head the Königliche Kapelle in 1892, made it a leading part of the city's musical life. Richard Strauss was its music director from 1908 to 1920.

As part of the lively musical scene in Berlin in the 1920s it now became associated with modern music. Its great conductors during the period included Furtwängler, Erich Kleiber, Klemperer, Zemlinsky, and Bruno Walter. Many of them left after the 1933 accession of the Nazis to power.

In 1934, the opera orchestra was named the Staatskapelle (State Orchestra), and from 1938 to 1945 was led by Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan. Another political reorganization in 1944 renamed the orchestra the Preussiche Staatskapelle (Prussian State Orchestra), which ceased giving concerts on April 19, 1945, when Allied troops began to enter the city. But it soon reopened (June 16, 1945) as the Staatskapelle Berlin. Two long-serving music directors, Franz Konwitschny and (from 1964 to 1990) Othmar Suitner, saw the Staatskapelle Berlin through its years as the leading orchestra in East Berlin, firmly under German Democratic Republic government rule.

In 1989, the members of the orchestra presented to the government a petition demanding the reorganization of the Staatskapelle as an independent, democratically run organization. This became part of the widespread public pressure that within months caused the collapse of the German communist state and the reunification of Germany. Since 1991, Daniel Barenboim has been general music director of the Staatskapelle Berlin., Rovi