Cuvilliés Theater
| Cuvilliés Theater | |
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| location | |
| Address: | Residenzstrasse 1, 80539 Munich |
| City: | Munich |
| Coordinates: | 48 ° 8 '27 " N , 11 ° 34' 49" E |
| Architecture and history | |
| Construction time: | 1751-1958 |
| Opened: | June 14, 1958 |
| Architect: | François de Cuvilliés |
| Named after: | François de Cuvilliés (1958) |
| Internet presence: | |
| Website: | Cuvilliés Theater |
The Cuvilliés-Theater (formerly Residenztheater ) in Munich is known as the most important Rococo theater in Germany. Before the Second World War it was located on the site of today's Residenz theater and has now been built into the so-called pharmacy floor of the ballroom building of the Munich Residenz . In addition to the Rich Rooms in the Residenz and the Amalienburg in Nymphenburg Park , it is one of the most important buildings by François de Cuvilliés in Munich.
history
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The reason for the construction was a fire in the residence from March 4th to 5th, 1750, which also destroyed the theater there. Now it was to be replaced by a completely new theater in a different location, namely where the magnificent Karl Albrechts bath house used to be . It was in the years 1751 to 1753 on behalf of Elector Maximilian III. Joseph built. The foundation stone was laid on July 9, 1750. The construction management was with Cuvilliés 'son François de Cuvilliés the younger and Cuvilliés' pupil Karl Albert von Lespilliez .
In July 1752 there was a topping-out ceremony for the craftsmen in Nymphenburg, after which the sculptors Johann Baptist Straub , Anton Pichler and Joachim Dietrich decorated the interior artfully. To this end, over 1000 trees were felled in the forests on the Staffelsee .
The theater machine that was used to raise or lower the floor came from Giovanni Gaspari. On October 12, 1753, the theater opened with the opera Catone in Utica by the Italian composer and electoral chamber music director Giovanni Battista Ferrandini .
In the years to come, only Italian operas were performed. The theater was only used for lavish events during Carnival and other special festivities of the court. Court conductor Andrea Bernasconi premiered eleven of his operas here. Il Trionfo della Constanza was played here for the first time in 1760 , and Maria Antonia Walpurgis of Bavaria , the sister of the Elector, who also sang the title role, hid behind the pseudonyms of the composer and librettist . The theater saw many other major opera performances, such as the world premiere of Mozart's Idomeneo on January 29, 1781 (two days after Mozart's 25th birthday).
In 1795 the Cuvilliés Theater was opened to all citizens of the city. In 1806, Napoleon came to Munich on the occasion of the elevation of Bavaria to the kingdom, and two festive operas were performed in his honor: the interrupted festival of sacrifice by Peter von Winter and Mozart's Don Giovanni . Napoleon stayed one act at a time.
In 1831 Ferdinand Raimund performed some of his pieces here. King Ludwig I then dissolved the opera and had the entire interior removed. The room now served as a decoration magazine for the National Theater . Ludwig's successor Max II had the building restored and reopened in November 1857.
Ernst von Possart developed into a formative personality both as an actor and as a director in the years that followed. He brought Mozart's operas back to their original form here in the 1890s, for example The Marriage of Figaro on February 15, 1895 . A revolving stage was used for the first time when Don Giovanni was rehearsed on May 29, 1896 .
Later, Ludwig Thomas pieces were part of the program every year. In 1921 the world premiere of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Der Schwierige with Gustl Waldau and Elisabeth Bergner , which remained in the repertoire until 1932. Until the 1920s it was common for the ministry to invite some of Munich's celebrities to premieres.
Until the Second World War, the theater was located in the northeast of Max-Joseph-Platz, where the New Residence Theater is today. The Residenztheater was closed at the beginning of 1944. The wooden parts of the theater were relocated in early 1944, shortly before the Residenztheater was destroyed on March 18, 1944, and built into the pharmacy floor between 1956 and 1958 after their restoration as part of the reconstruction of the Residenz. The concept for the relocation came from Rudolf Esterer, the leading architect of the Bavarian Palace Administration for many years . The reconstruction, which was carried out in record time, was carried out by the residence construction management of the palace administration under the direction of Otto Meitinger . For the 800th anniversary of Munich on June 14, 1958, the theater was reopened with a performance of the Mozart opera The Marriage of Figaro under the direction of Ferenc Fricsay .
As a popular venue for first-rate cultural events, z. For example, poetry readings take place in the Cuvilliés Theater, including one of Erich Kästner's last literary solo evenings in March 1970. Until it closed in early 2004, the theater was regularly performed by the ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera , and even more so by the Bavarian State Theater . The intentions of the rescuers of the theater from the 1950s to play it with appropriate productions in an appropriately restrained manner in accordance with its unique character, could not be enforced in the long term.
On June 14, 2008, 50 years after the opening of the theater, which was restored after being relocated due to the war, it was reopened again after a thorough restoration and modernization of the stage technology, this time with the opera Idomeneo by WA Mozart (which was premiered here, see above, in 1781 was) and in the presence of Prime Minister Günther Beckstein and the "host", Finance Minister Erwin Huber . Its predecessor Kurt Faltlhauser had actively pushed ahead with the renovation of the theater,Among other things, by founding the Comitée Cuvilliés , a group of committed citizens who contributed to the financing (similar to the Pinakothek der Moderne ). At the time, however, it was questionable whether a lot of theater would be played in the restored piece of jewelery, as the rent (compared, for example, to the Prinzregententheater ) was set very high.
Initially, the theater will not be operated by the Bavarian State Opera as before , but by the Bavarian State Theater under the direction of Martin Kušej . There are also performances by the opera studio - the “young talent” of the Bavarian State Opera. The house can be visited. Guided tours take place daily.
Interior design
The theater is decorated in red and gold. The four floors, each with 14 boxes, enclose the ground floor in a horseshoe shape. The elector's box, which extends over the two middle floors and faces the stage, deserves special attention. It is supported by two atlases that form the entrance. On the first floor these have caryatids as counterparts. Opposite the Elector's Box above the stage is the alliance coat of arms of Elector Maximilian III. Joseph and his wife Maria Anna of Saxony-Poland.
The contemporary division of society is reflected in the different design of the various ranks. The elector's box is the artistic focal point of the room. The subsequent boxes in the first tier, which were intended for the high nobility, follow and are richly decorated. This decoration is gradually reduced over the second and third tier, in which the lower nobility and court officials took their places. The relatively simply furnished ground floor was reserved for the city nobility .
literature
- Dieter Derksen, Eberhard Horst: "Herr von Cuvilliés' contrived opera house gear". On the history of the Munich Residenztheater. In: Herbert Schindler (Ed.): Bavaria in the Rococo. Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7991-6434-0 .
Web links
- The Cuvilliés Theater on the website of the Munich Residence
- Information on the website of the Bavarian State Theater
Individual evidence
- ^ Egbert Tholl, Christoph Wiedemann: Theater space with pitfalls. Reopening of the Cuvilliés Theater. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010, accessed March 17, 2011 .