Hamburger Volksbühne
The Hamburger Volksbühne e. V. is the largest association-based visitor organization in Germany.
It was founded on January 4, 1919 as an association to make theater visits possible for all social classes. In 2019 the association had over 23,000 members.
According to the motto “One subscription, all theaters”, the Hamburger Volksbühne sells various subscription variants for programs from performances in all Hamburg theaters under the inkultur brand .
origin
The Volksbühnen idea originated in Berlin at the end of the 19th century. The Freie Volksbühne was founded there in 1890 with the aim of enabling mostly workers to go to the theater and to break the educational monopoly held by the bourgeoisie until then. Turbulent years of content and political debate followed. Intendants threatened to close their houses, in 1899 the association initially ceased its work. The Central Commission for Education in Hamburg-Altona continued the cultural-political work. After the First World War, on January 4, 1919, the board of the newly founded Hamburger Volksbühne was entered in the register of associations . The war years unleashed work, but the need for culture at the time was considerable. In December 1945 the Hamburger Volksbühne had 3,000 members again. In 1946 the Hamburg Volksbühne had 15,000 members. The cultural hunger, however, is unbroken; In the 1947/48 season there were already 36,300 Hamburg members in the Hamburger Volksbühne. The currency reform brought about a dramatic slump ; all theaters suffered a comparable loss.
Departure
The Hamburg Volksbühne also felt the effects of the reconstruction and the economic miracle : in 1956, admission had to be stopped at short notice. The capacities of the Hamburg theaters were exhausted next to their own subscribers and the free sale with 40,000 Volksbühne members. Repealed in 1957, the number of members grew to 50,000 over the course of the 1957/58 season. In Berlin, however, the first criticism was loud: Friedrich Luft , an institution as a theater critic, described the Volksbühne as a "loading machine". “ Die Welt ” accused the Volksbühne of wanting to exert influence or to make regulations in terms of the repertoire and plays. The Hamburger Volksbühne showed its flag in 1965 and financially supported the then Junge Theater, today Ernst Deutsch Theater , by enabling the first performance of the play " The persecution and kidnapping of Jean Paul Marat " by Peter Weiss . With her commitment she made it possible to deal with a piece of time that combined the restoration of the Adenauer era with a premonition of the student revolt of 1968 .
In the mid-1970s, the offer was expanded to include theater, study and cultural trips. Theater buses brought the members from the Hamburg suburbs to the performances. Theater trips led around the globe and were just as much a part of the offer as chamber and symphony concerts.
Since 1990
The difficult economic conditions of the 1990s also had an impact on the Hamburger Volksbühne. The number of members was declining. The state coffers were empty. Culture felt this too. Nevertheless, the Hamburger Volksbühne was able to keep its membership fees stable.
present
The Hamburger Volksbühne celebrated its 100th birthday in 2019. A chronicle 1919–2019 was published for the 100th anniversary .
The Hamburger Volksbühne offers various subscription options under the inkultur brand .
For members who would like to put together a cultural program according to their own wishes, there is the choice subscription and the incultur pass .
With the optional subscription , the members choose the performances themselves. The dates are announced on the website and in the magazine inkultur , which members receive every month. The members are not bound by the theater or the rhythm of visits.
With the inkultur pass , members receive pass coupons that can be exchanged for admission tickets at the Hamburg theaters. Orders are placed directly with the theaters.
For members who want to know in advance what they will see, when and where, there are fixed-date subscriptions with different topics, such as mixed colors , cheerful and so on , according to grades , afternoons , weekdays , etc. At the beginning of the theater season, the fixed-date subscriptions are Subscriptions published on the website and in a printed overview.
Another subscription variant is for members who want to be surprised. With the so-called call subscriptions , the Hamburger Volksbühne plans the cultural program for the members and provides information about the date and the performance four to six weeks before a performance. If an appointment is not available due to time constraints, you can switch to another.
Award ceremonies
Silver mask
In March 1969, the Hamburger Volksbühne donated the Silver Mask Prize . It intends to honor special artistic achievements in the stage arts and to express the close ties between its members and the Hamburg theaters. Until 1973, the Silver Mask was awarded twice after each season, namely:
- by the members of their own choice, who thereby honor the performance of an actress / singer. Once elected, the person cannot be re-elected within the next five years.
- by a jury who, at its own discretion, determines the art genre or group of people to whom the prize is to be awarded before the start of a season.
Starting with the 1973/74 season, the allocation of members or jury changes annually.
The silver mask was last awarded in 1992.
Winner of the Silver Mask, awarded by the members of the Hamburger Volksbühne
| For special performance | Playtime |
|---|---|
| Ida honor | 1969/70 |
| Friedrich Schuetter | 1970/71 |
| Hans Fitze | 1971/72 |
| Boy Gobert | 1972/73 |
| Wants to fly quad | 1973/74 |
| Nicole Heesters | 1975/76 |
| Uwe Friedrichsen | 1977/78 |
| Manfred Steffen | 1979/80 |
| Heidi cable | 1981/82 |
| Werner Hinz | 1983/84 |
| Karl Paryla | 1985/86 |
| Gerda Gmelin | 1987/88 |
| Gamal Gouda | 1989/90 |
Prize winners of the Silver Mask, awarded by the jury
| For outstanding productions | Playtime |
|---|---|
| William Shakespeare / Friedrich Dürrenmatt : King Johann - Thalia Theater | 1969/70 |
| Aristophanes : Lysistrata - German theater | 1970/71 |
| Storey: Home - painter's room | 1971/72 |
| Arthur Miller : All my sons - Altonaer Theater | 1972/73 |
| Gustav Mahler : 3rd Symphony - Hamburg State Opera ( John Neumeier ) | 1974/75 |
| Bernd Alois Zimmermann / Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz : The soldiers - State Opera Hamburg | 1976/77 |
| Kasimier Kutz: The memorable performance of Hamlet in Unterschlammdorf - Theater in the Kunsthalle (tik) | 1978/79 |
| Arnolt Bronnen : Parricide - theater in the room | 1980/81 |
| Peter Shaffer : Amadeus - Thalia Theater | 1982/83 |
| Georg Friedrich Handel : Balsazar - Hamburg State Opera | 1984/85 |
| Carl Zuckmayer : The happy vineyard - Ernst Deutsch Theater | 1986/87 |
| Hector Berlioz : Faust's damnation - Hamburg State Opera | 1988/89 |
| For merits in the cultural and educational field | |
| Theater for children | 1990/91 |
| Ohnsorg Theater | 1991/92 |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b WELT: Hamburger Volksbühne: Theater for everyone for 100 years . March 16, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed October 8, 2019]).
- ^ NDR: Hamburger Volksbühne: 100 years for the theater. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
- ↑ ARCult Media GmbH: Kulturpreise.de: Silver Mask of Hamburg adult stage. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
- ^ Senate reception 100 years of Volksbühne Hamburg and presentation of the "Silver Medal for Faithful Work in the Service of the People". Retrieved October 8, 2019 .