| Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view ofHessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the festival's main venue | |
| Genre | International theatre: opera, play, ballet and others |
| Begins | around 1 May |
| Ends | around 31 May |
| Frequency | annual |
| Location | Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden |
| Inaugurated | 1896; 129 years ago (1896) |
| Organised by | Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden |
| Website | english |
TheInternationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival,IMF) is a theater festival inWiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after theBayreuth Festival, the festival is one of the most distinguished international theatre and music festivals in the world. It is presented annually in May at theHessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the State Theatre of Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden. The festival currently features performances ofoperas,ballets,plays andmusicals. Visiting companies, mostly from European theaters, present their recent productions along with performances of the Theater Wiesbaden. Concerts from a wide array of music genres are featured as well as artistic circus acts and modern dance presentations. Lectures, recitals, cabaret performances, art showings and readings are also part of the program.
In 1896, the festival was established as "Kaiserfestspiele" (Imperial Festival) by Georg von Hülsen, director of the theater in Wiesbaden.[1] He wanted to create a festival to compare with the successfulBayreuth Festival. A festival in Spring was supposed to coincide with the emperor's regular stay at thespa to create a cultural event. The director also wanted to improve the status of his "Neues königliches Hoftheater" (New Royal Court Theatre), which relied mostly on productions from the Royal theater in Berlin. The first festival was presented from 6 to 19 May 1896, with the German emperorWilliam I and the empressAugusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in attendance.[2] The posters and programs showed "Festspiele auf allerhöchsten Befehl!" (Festival by the very highest order!), referring to the emperor's demand.[3] In the beginning the focus was on the works ofRichard Wagner as in Bayreuth, but different from Bayreuth works of other composers were also performed, such as Carl Maria von Weber'sOberon in 1900. The festival closed for the duration of World War I.[3]
In 1928, the first festival after the war was staged by the directorPaul Bekker and called "Mai-Festwoche" (Festival week in May). It presented on 6 May the premiere of three short operas byErnst Krenek,Der Diktator,Das geheime Königreich andSchwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation.[4] In 1929, the festival was called "Festwochen im Mai" (Festive Weeks in May). His main concern was to stress the achievement of the Wiesbaden theatre. From 4 to 21 May 1929, the festival presented the operaDie ägyptische Helena of Richard Strauss, which had premiered the year before at theSemperoper.[3][5]
UnderNazism, the festival was held until 1939 as part of theGaukulturwochen. The director wasCarl von Schirach.
In 1950, the first festival after World War II was the first with an international approach, reflected in the new name. The festival was held annually since then. Traditionally the festival was opened by a new production of the Wiesbaden theatre.[3] Starting in 1962, directorClaus Helmut Drese encouraged presentations from Eastern European companies under the Motto "Fenster nach Osten" (window to the East). Guest productions of operas and ballets from Warsaw, Leningrad, Sofia, Bucharest, Moscow and the great theatres of former East Germany took place at the festival.Claus Leininger, director from 1986 to 1994, invited companies from Northern Europe, Spain and North America. In 1989, when Germany was still divided, the Berlin companiesDeutsche Oper Berlin fromWest Berlin andKomische Oper Berlin fromEast Berlin both showed their productions. Visiting ensembles from Eastern Europe increased even more after the opening of theIron Curtain. Plays have been performed by theBerliner Ensemble, theSchaubühne,Deutsches Theater and theMünchner Kammerspiele, among others. Ballet companies have includedCloud Gate Dance Theater from Taiwan, the TanztheaterPina Bausch, Wuppertal, theCullberg Ballet from Sweden,Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and theNederlands Dans Theater.[2] Young audiences have been addressed by the series of plays "Junge Woche" (Young Week). Due to restricted funding in recent years the program was reduced, shifting to younger and more experimental performers.[3]
In 1955. the stage version ofHans Vogt's so-called Oratorische Oper (oratorio opera)Die Stadt hinter dem Strom after thenovel ofHermann Kasack was premiered.
In 1962, the Opera Warsaw presented as the first visiting company from Eastern Europe the operaThe Haunted Manor of Stanisław Moniuszko. Works of the 20th century have includedStrawinsky'sLe sacre du printemps andOedipus rex andArthur Honegger'sJudith.
At the 1989 festival, theDeutsche Oper Berlin visited with three productions, the opening night was Verdi'sRigoletto, staged byHans Neuenfels and conducted bySilvio Varviso, followed by Janáček'sKatja Kabanowa and the balletDer Blaue Engel.Hartmut Haenchen conducted Handel's operaGiustino in a production of theKomische Oper Berlin staged byHarry Kupfer, withJochen Kowalski in the title role. TheBolshoi Theatre presented Borodin'sPrince Igor and Mussorgsky'sKhovanshchina, both conducted byAlexander Lazarev.[6]
In 2008, theTeatro Regio Torino visited with Verdi'sRigoletto.[7]
In 2009, Theater Wiesbaden opened withSalome,[8] Verdi'sNabucco was performed by theTeatro Regio di Parma.[9]
The opening performance in 2010 was Alban Berg'sLulu, on the program for the opening of the 2011 festival on 30 April 2011 was the premiere of Ernst August Klötzke's operaBeatrice and the first performance in German ofRodion Shchedrin's literary operaLolita, based on Nabokov'snovel, produced by the Theater Wiesbaden with Emma Pearson in the title role, in the presence of the composer.[8][10][11] On the 2011 festival program are performances of the farewell tour of theMerce Cunningham Dance Company.
The Maifestspiele 2010 had 20,700 visitors, 90.4% of the available seating capacity was sold. The budget for 2011 comprises €1,432,200.
