Theater Dortmund
Encyclopedia
Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces opera
s, musical
s, ballet
s, play
s, and concert
s in Dortmund
, Germany
. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and operates several performance spaces.
In 2010 the Ruhr district
is a European Capital of Culture
, Theater Dortmund is a partner of the related program RUHR2010 in the fields Music and Theater and Dance.
Martin Dülfer
and built from 1902–1904. The theater's inaugural performance was of Richard Wagner
's Tannhäuser
on 17 December 1904. Busoni's Doktor Faust
was performed in 1925.
The building was significantly damaged from an aerial bombing on 1 March 1943, but remained in operation until 1 September 1944 when the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
of the Nazi government closed all German theatres. A second bombing on 6 October 1944 completely destroyed the original building.
's Fidelio
.
The intendant
was P. Walter Jacob, who pursued performances of Wagner's operas and more recent works. He staged and conducted Wagner's Lohengrin
during his first season and conducted Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
the following year. He staged Hans Pfitzner
's opera Das Herz (1930) and the drama Eli of Nelly Sachs
(1950). In 1954 the musical comedy Die stumme Serenade of Erich Wolfgang Korngold
was premiered. In 1955 Jacob staged Franz Werfel
's drama Jacobowski und der Oberst and played a leading part himself.
The theater was mainly used for operas; plays were mostly performed at the Theater am Ostwall.
Theater Dortmund was called Städtische Bühnen Dormund (Stages of the City of Dortmund).
opened in 1966 to serve as a venue for operas, ballets, concerts, and for plays which require a big stage. The first performance was Der Rosenkavalier
of Strauss, an opera which had been performed first in 1911, the year of the works premiere. Wilhelm Schüchter
conducted the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
. In 1967 he conducted the premiere of the opera Eli of Walter Steffens after the drama of Nelly Sachs
, a commission of the city of Dortmund.
The orchestra used the opera house for concerts until 2002, when the Konzerthaus Dortmund was opened.
was composer-in-residence. In December 2008 the Thomanerchor
and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by Thomaskantor
Georg Christoph Biller
, performed Bach's Christmas Oratorio
. In November 2009 Ignat Solzhenitsyn
conducted the Cantemus Chor and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
in works of Mozart including his Great Mass in C minor. In June 2010 Cecilia Bartoli
sang in concert the title role of Bellini's Norma
for the first time, in the original mezzo-soprano range, with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s, play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
s, and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and operates several performance spaces.
In 2010 the Ruhr district
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
is a European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
, Theater Dortmund is a partner of the related program RUHR2010 in the fields Music and Theater and Dance.
Stadttheater Dortmund
Theater Dortmund's original theatre was designed by architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Martin Dülfer
Martin Dülfer
Martin Dülfer was a German architect.He taught as a professor at the Technische Hochschule Dresden .-Works:* The Stadttheater in Meran, Italy...
and built from 1902–1904. The theater's inaugural performance was of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
on 17 December 1904. Busoni's Doktor Faust
Doktor Faust
Doktor Faust is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer himself, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time of his death. His pupil Philipp Jarnach finished it...
was performed in 1925.
The building was significantly damaged from an aerial bombing on 1 March 1943, but remained in operation until 1 September 1944 when the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was Nazi Germany's ministry that enforced Nazi Party ideology in Germany and regulated its culture and society. Founded on March 13, 1933, by Adolf Hitler's new National Socialist government, the Ministry was headed by Dr...
of the Nazi government closed all German theatres. A second bombing on 6 October 1944 completely destroyed the original building.
Städtische Bühnen Dortmund
An interim theatre was inaugurated by Theater Dortmund on 12 September 1950, with a performance of Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
.
The intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
was P. Walter Jacob, who pursued performances of Wagner's operas and more recent works. He staged and conducted Wagner's Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
during his first season and conducted Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
the following year. He staged Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
's opera Das Herz (1930) and the drama Eli of Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs was a Jewish German poet and playwright whose experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews...
(1950). In 1954 the musical comedy Die stumme Serenade of Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
was premiered. In 1955 Jacob staged Franz Werfel
Franz Werfel
Franz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
's drama Jacobowski und der Oberst and played a leading part himself.
The theater was mainly used for operas; plays were mostly performed at the Theater am Ostwall.
Theater Dortmund was called Städtische Bühnen Dormund (Stages of the City of Dortmund).
Oper Dortmund
The new opera house Opernhaus DortmundOpernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, opened in 1966 and formally operated by the Theater Dortmund.-Architecture:...
opened in 1966 to serve as a venue for operas, ballets, concerts, and for plays which require a big stage. The first performance was Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
of Strauss, an opera which had been performed first in 1911, the year of the works premiere. Wilhelm Schüchter
Wilhelm Schüchter
Wilhelm Schüchter was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings.-Professional career:...
conducted the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
Dortmunder Philharmoniker
The Dortmunder Philharmoniker are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs both opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund...
. In 1967 he conducted the premiere of the opera Eli of Walter Steffens after the drama of Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs was a Jewish German poet and playwright whose experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews...
, a commission of the city of Dortmund.
The orchestra used the opera house for concerts until 2002, when the Konzerthaus Dortmund was opened.
Schauspiel Dortmund
Since 1968 the post-war opera house serves as the main stage for plays. Theater Dortmund also operates smaller theatres for more experimental productions.Konzerthaus Dortmund
In 2002 Theater Dortmund opened the concert hall Konzerthaus Dortmund, as a venue for the orchestra's concerts and guest performances. In the 2005/06 season Rebecca SaundersRebecca Saunders
-Biography:Saunders studied violin and composition at the University of Edinburgh. This was followed by a scholarship from the DAAD from 1991 to 1994 to study composition at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Wolfgang Rihm, and in 1997 a doctorate in composition with Nigel Osborne.She has...
was composer-in-residence. In December 2008 the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by Thomaskantor
Thomaskantor
The Thomaskantor is the musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, founded in 1212. He is appointed by Leipzig's city council and his duties are to lead the weekly services called Motette, Sunday services and other services in the Thomaskirche, also to conduct recordings and tours.Johann...
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
, performed Bach's Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
. In November 2009 Ignat Solzhenitsyn
Ignat Solzhenitsyn
Ignat Aleksandrovich Solzhenitsyn is a Russian-American conductor and pianist who is the conductor laureate of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the principal guest conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.-Career:...
conducted the Cantemus Chor and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. It was founded in 1950 and, along with Philharmonie Südwestfalen and Landesjugendorchester NRW, is one of the 'official' orchestras of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia...
in works of Mozart including his Great Mass in C minor. In June 2010 Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
sang in concert the title role of Bellini's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
for the first time, in the original mezzo-soprano range, with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock
Thomas Hengelbrock
Thomas Hengelbrock is a German violinist, musicologist, stage director and conductor.- Biography :Thomas Hengelbrock studied the violin with Rainer Kussmaul and started his career in Würzburg and Freiburg im Breisgau...
.
External links
- Theater Dortmund website
- Konzerthaus Dortmund website
- Konzerthaus Dortmund on the Dortmund website
- Konzerthaus Dortmund on the RUHR2010 website