 Theater 1904, destroyed in World War II, and now (Opera House) | |
| Formation | 1904 (1904) as Stadttheater Dortmund |
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| Type | municipal theatrical organization |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 51°30′40″N7°27′42″E / 51.51111°N 7.46167°E /51.51111; 7.46167 |
| Website | www |
Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that producesoperas,musicals,ballets, plays, and concerts inDortmund, 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, theRuhr district was aEuropean Capital of Culture, Theater Dortmund is a partner of the related programRUHR.2010 in the fieldsMusic andTheater and Dance.[1]
Theater Dortmund's original theatre was designed by architectMartin Dülfer and built from 1902 to 1904. The theater's inaugural performance was ofRichard Wagner'sTannhäuser on 17 December 1904. Busoni'sDoktor 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 theMinistry 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.[2]
An interim theatre was inaugurated by Theater Dortmund on 12 September 1950, with a performance of Beethoven'sFidelio.TheIntendant wasP. Walter Jacob, who pursued performances of Wagner's operas and more recent works. He staged and conducted Wagner'sLohengrin during his first season and conductedDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg the following year. He stagedHans Pfitzner's operaDas Herz (1930) and the dramaEli ofNelly Sachs (1950). In 1954 the musical comedyDie stumme Serenade ofErich Wolfgang Korngold was premiered. In 1955 Jacob stagedFranz Werfel's dramaJacobowski und der Oberst and played a leading part himself.
The theater was mainly used for operas; plays were mostly performed at theTheater am Ostwall.
Theater Dortmund was calledStädtische Bühnen Dortmund (Stages of the City of Dortmund).
The new opera houseOpernhaus Dortmund opened in 1966 to serve as a venue for operas, ballets, concerts, and for plays which require a big stage. The first performance wasDer Rosenkavalier of Strauss, an opera which had been performed first in 1911, the year of the works premiere.Wilhelm Schüchter conducted theDortmunder Philharmoniker.[2][3] In 1967 he conducted the premiere of the operaEli ofWalter Steffens after the drama ofNelly Sachs, a commission of the city of Dortmund.[4]
The orchestra used the opera house for concerts until 2002, when the Konzerthaus Dortmund was opened.
Since 1968, the post-war opera house serves as the main stage for plays.[2] Theater Dortmund also operates smaller theaters for more experimental productions. Schauspiel Dortmund and collectiveTools for Action won an award for Cultural Education of the Federal Ministry of Culture and the Media of Germany for 2017 for the project Mirror Barricade.[5]
Since 2002, the orchestra has been using the newly opened concert hallKonzerthaus Dortmund as a venue for the orchestra's concerts and guest performances. The planning and founding director wasUlrich Andreas Vogt.
In the 2005/06 seasonRebecca Saunders was composer-in-residence.[6] In December 2008 theThomanerchor andGewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted byThomaskantorGeorg Christoph Biller, performed Bach'sChristmas Oratorio.[7] In November 2009Ignat Solzhenitsyn conducted the Cantemus Chor and theNordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in works of Mozart including hisGreat Mass in C minor.[8] In June 2010Cecilia Bartoli sang in concert the title role of Bellini'sNorma for the first time, in the original mezzo-soprano range, with conductorThomas Hengelbrock.[9][10]
The Konzerthaus Dortmund is an independent institution, led by Artistic Director Benedikt Stampa since the 2005/06 season.
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