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| Address | Universitätsring 2 Vienna Austria |
| Coordinates | 48°12′37″N16°21′41″E / 48.21028°N 16.36139°E /48.21028; 16.36139 |
| Type | Theater |
| Opened | 14 March 1741 (1741-03-14) |
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| burgtheater | |
TheBurgtheater (German:[ˈbʊʁk.teˌaːtɐ]; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known asK.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as theK.K. Hofburgtheater, is the national theater ofAustria inVienna. It is the most important German-languagetheater and one of the most important theatres in the world.[1] The Burgtheater was opened in 1741 and has become known asdie Burg by the Viennese population;[1] its theater company has created a traditional style and speech typical of Burgtheater performances.
The original Burgtheater was set up in atennis court (called a 'ball house' at the time) that the Roman-German king and later emperorFerdinand I had built in 1540 in the lower pleasure garden of theHofburg after the old ball house fell victim to a fire in 1525.[2][3]
The theater opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of theHabsburg EmpressMaria Theresa of Austria, who wanted a theater next to her palace. Her son, EmperorJoseph II, called it the "German National Theater" in 1776. ThreeMozartoperas premiered there:Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782),Le nozze di Figaro (1786), andCosì fan tutte (1790), as well as hisPiano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor (1786). Beginning in 1794, the theater was called the "K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg".Beethoven's1st Symphony premiered there on 2 April 1800. The last performance, in October 1888, was ofGoethe'sIphigenie auf Tauris.[4][5]
The theater's first building adjoined theHofburg at Michaelerplatz, oppositeSt. Michael's Church. The theater was moved to a new building at theRingstraße on 14 October 1888, designed byGottfried Semper andKarl Freiherr von Hasenauer, and St. Michael's Wing of the Hofburg Palace was erected at the vacated site.
In 1943, under Nazi rule, a notoriously extreme production ofThe Merchant of Venice was staged at the Burgtheater—withWerner Krauss asShylock, one of several theater and film roles by this actorpandering to antisemitic stereotypes.[6]
On 12 March 1945, the Burgtheater was largely destroyed in aUnited States Air Force bombing raid, and one month later, on 12 April 1945, it was further damaged by a fire of unknown origin.[1] After the war, the theater was rebuilt between 1953 and 1955.[1] The classic Burgtheater style and theBurgtheater-German language were groundbreaking forGerman-language theater.[citation needed]
Before 1776, the theater had been leased from the state by JohannKoháry. After encountering financial difficulties in 1773, he convinced JosephKeglevich to act as curator. The director of the theater, WenzelSporck, who was the great nephew ofFranz Anton Sporck, who had brought thefrench horn andAntonio Vivaldi toPrague, established a committee to finance the theater under the chairmanship of Franz Keglevich in 1773, and Karl Keglevich became the director of theTheater am Kärntnertor in 1773. Joseph Keglevich declared the theater bankrupt in 1776 and the state, underJoseph II, took over its operation in 1776. Wenzel Sporck and Franz Keglevich were released from their duties in 1776 and theUniversity of Trnava, whose rector was Alexander Keglevich in the year 1770/71, received permission to move into theBuda Castle. Until 1776, the theater had been financedde facto, but notde jure, by the University of Trnava of theSociety of Jesus, which were suppressed by the order ofPope Clement XIV in 1773.Francis II decided on 4 July 1792 to lease the theater again, but couldn't find a tenant. Finally,Ferdinánd Pálffy became the tenant in 1794, until 1817; his finances originated from the mining institute inBanská Štiavnica, the first technical university in the world.[7][8][9][10][11]
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The Burgtheater remained a strongly traditional stage with a distinct culture until the late 1960s. From the early 1970s on, it became a venue for some of Europe's most important stage directors and designers. With many debut performances of plays written byThomas Bernhard,Elfriede Jelinek,Peter Handke,Peter Turrini, andGeorge Tabori, Claus Peymann managed to affirm the Burgtheater's reputation as one of Europe's foremost stages.
Among the best known actors in the ensemble of about 120 members are:Sven-Eric Bechtolf,Klaus Maria Brandauer,Kirsten Dene,Andrea Clausen,Bruno Ganz,Karlheinz Hackl,Philipp Hochmair,[12]Robert Meyer,Gertraud Jesserer,August Diehl,Jutta Lampe,Susanne Lothar,Michael Maertens,Tamara Metelka,Birgit Minichmayr,Nicholas Ofczarek,Hedwig Pistorius,Elisabeth Orth [de],Martin Schwab,Peter Simonischek,Ulrich Tukur,Franz Tscherne, andGert Voss.
Some famous former members of the ensemble wereMax Devrient,Josef Kainz,Josef Lewinsky,Joseph Schreyvogel,Adolf von Sonnenthal,Charlotte Wolter,Ludwig Gabillon,Zerline Gabillon,Attila Hörbiger,Paula Wessely,Curd Jürgens,O. W. Fischer,Paul Hörbiger,Otto Tausig,Peter Weck,Fritz Muliar,Christoph Waltz,Ignaz Kirchner, andGert Voss. Particularly deserving artists may be designated honorable members. Their names are engraved in marble at the bottom end of the ceremonial stairs at the side of the theater facing theVolksgarten. Members of honor include:Annemarie Düringer,Wolfgang Gasser,Heinrich Schweiger,Gusti Wolf, Klaus Maria Brandauer, andMichael Heltau.
The Burgtheater has seen productions staged by directors likeOtto Schenk,Peter Hall,Giorgio Strehler,Luca Ronconi,Hans Neuenfels,Terry Hands,Jonathan Miller,Peter Zadek,Paulus Manker,Luc Bondy,Christoph Schlingensief, andThomas Vinterberg. Among the staged and costume designers wereFritz Wotruba,Luciano Damiani,Pier Luigi Pizzi,Ezio Frigerio,Franca Squarciapino,Josef Svoboda,Anselm Kiefer,Moidele Bickel, andMilena Canonero.
Notable performances include the world premiere ofDes Feux dans la Nuit in 1999, whose choreography was done byMarie Chouinard.
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