German art theater
The German Art Theater in Berlin-Tiergarten was a private theater that existed under different names from 1911 to 1943. Directed early on by Gerhart Hauptmann as a director, it was the place of work for many famous actors, singers, authors, directors and composers: apart from Hauptmann Franz Lehár , Oscar Straus , Carl Zuckmayer , Richard Tauber , Victor Barnowsky , Curt Goetz , Max Adalbert , Heinz Saltenburg , Curt Bois , Gustaf Gründgens , Emil Jannings , Heinz Rühmann and others.
history
On the property at Budapester Strasse 35 in Berlin-Tiergarten Süd, originally Nürnberger Strasse 70-71, the theater was founded in 1911 by Jacob Epstein as an opera venue; initially it was called "Elector's Opera". A building in the neoclassical style was built by the architects Hildenbrand & Nicolaus with 1045 seats and a tuff facade. The first opera productions followed.
A review by Arthur Neisser comes from this time , which enthusiastically cited: “When you return to the German music metropolis Berlin after a long absence and now, soon after your arrival, you see a brand new opera company launch an interesting new work in Germany, then you get overwhelmed one again the great respect [...] “However, this respect went to the cultural workers in this house, not to the building itself. Neisser wrote about it that you noticed that it was all too quickly put into operation, you already encountered a kitschy ornament in the stairwell and the house has "absolutely nothing to do with the music in its construction, neither on the ornamental nor on the interior design side, and an icy air blows in the foyer, also stylistically understood [...]" The size of the property was the architects prompted to make concessions: The traffic areas for both the public and the staff were quite cramped gt, the second tier extremely steep.
The theater was soon rebuilt: in 1913 Max Epstein took over the house as owner and manager, he had the building rebuilt by the architect Oskar Kaufmann . The orchestra pit was removed and the public transport routes were changed in accordance with the fire protection regulations applicable at the time.
The house was also given a new name: The artist-theater society developed a new concept for an “unthyranically-led spoken theater”. The renewed venue was opened with Gerhart Hauptmann's Wilhelm Tell production based on Friedrich Schiller . As early as 1915, the project was abandoned due to financial difficulties and major differences of opinion among those involved. The director of the Lessing Theater , Victor Barnowsky , took over the management of the theater; the house was now called "German Art Theater". The new profile was determined by Curt Goetz and the comedian Max Adalbert , but Hugo Hirsch's operettas also continued to be premiered here. In 1924 this concept ran into financial difficulties and Barnowsky gave up.
In the period that followed, up to 1935, the directors changed and gave the house different profiles, among them Heinz Saltenburg . Under Saltenburg, the house finally became an operetta theater. In 1935 the National Socialist state expropriated Max Epstein and drove him into exile in London. The theater was now subordinate to the state theaters and referred to as "State Theater - Small House". During the National Socialist era, the theater was also structurally changed once again: a leader's box was installed in the first tier. Gustaf Gründgens was general manager from 1935 to 1943. With Emil Jannings and Heinz Rühmann , mainly comedies were performed. In 1943 the house burned down completely after a bomb attack.
Later use
The ruin was blown up in 1963. In 1983, the Grundkreditbank erected its new central building on the vacated property, which was used until 2016 and was demolished again in 2017 in favor of a new office building.
Web links
- German artist theater in the district lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Berlin: State Theater Small House on www.andreas-praefcke.de
- ↑ Arthur Neisser, The Madonna's Jewelry . Opera from the Neapolitan folk life in three acts by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. First performance at the Berlin Elector's Opera on December 28 , in: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 79, 1912, p. 4 ( digitized version )
- ↑ a b c The fourth wall. Initiative Theatermuseum Berlin e. V. 007, p. 68 ff. ( Digitized version ( memento of the original from July 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. )
- ↑ New high-rise on Budapester Strasse , tagesspiegel.de, January 11, 2017, accessed on July 7, 2020.
