Old Komische Oper Berlin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Komische Oper on a picture postcard sent in 1912

The old Komische Oper was a privately operated opera house in Berlin-Mitte , Friedrichstrasse  104, on the Weidendammer Bridge . It should not be confused with today's Komische Oper , Behrenstrasse 55–57. The naming Komische Oper referred to the Paris Opéra-Comique .

history

The house was built in around eleven months from December 1904 to November 1905. The Berlin construction company Lachmann & Zauber was commissioned with the planning and construction ; the architect Arthur Biberfeld (1874–1959) employed there is named as the author of the design of the facade .

In addition to the Friedrichstrasse train station, the Admiralspalast , one of the most famous revue theaters in Berlin in the 1920s, other theaters and various well-known hotels were located in the vicinity . This central location resulted in a high land price even at the time of construction, which in turn made it necessary to erect the building on a relatively small plot of land, which is actually too cramped for a music theater at 1,370 m². The building owner and first manager of the house (until 1911), Hans Gregor , described the auditorium as "botched amateurishly", which had 1,254 seats in the parquet and on three cantilevered tiers. In front of the 9.20 m wide stage opening, the orchestra pit offered space for up to 60 musicians. Auditorium, walkways and foyer were lavishly decorated, the sculptural jewelry made by the Berlin sculptor's workshop for stucco and application work Albert Kretzschmar could be stylistically classified between neo-baroque and art nouveau . In the external appearance of the theater, the colossal pilasters and the curves (roof, building edges and gable field) brought the neo-baroque features into the foreground, the facades were made of light Cotta sandstone.

After the departure of the artistic director Hans Gregor, more operettas were played. The singer Aurelie Révy (1879–1957) took over the management of the Komische Oper. A high point in this phase was the premiere of the Black Forest girl in 1917 . In the 1920s, the focus shifted - following the general taste of the time - to revues . The house came into the ownership of the International Novelty Distribution Company in the early 1920s .

In 1929, the Berlin architect Martin Punitzer carried out a design modernization that reflected the changed taste in music, in which the plastic decor, which was now perceived as overloaded and old-fashioned, was removed, especially in the interior of the building. Light boxes made of opaque glass were attached to the facade above the entrance, following the contemporary trend towards neon advertising , which is particularly attracting attention in the evening hours . But at the same time, the company got into financial difficulties and put the house up for sale at auction.

Kurt Strickrodt managed the house in the mid-1930s .

The building was bombed at the end of World War II . After the rubble had been cleared, the property remained vacant until rebuilding in the 1980s.

World premieres at the Komische Oper

Singer and actor in the Komische Oper

Hanns Bosenius , Paul Heidemann , Martin Hellberg , Erik Ode , Ewald Wenck , Blandine Ebinger , Hilde Fee , Ida Perry , Fee von Reichlin , Grete Weiser

literature

Web links

Commons : Alte Komische Oper Berlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berlin architecture world , cf. Literature
    On the CARTHALIA page (see web links) the construction company Boswau & Knauer is named instead ; however, the literature mentioned in the article about this construction company only gives vague references to a “Komische Oper” renovation project, dated around 1898 and apparently without any location.
  2. ↑ Berlin's first female theater director (with photo) , in Rhein und Düssel (No. 34) on August 19, 1911
  3. ^ Comical opera under the hammer . In: Vossische Zeitung , April 8, 1929.

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '17.8 "  N , 13 ° 23' 18.2"  E