Schwetzingen Palace Theater
The Early Classicist Schwetzingen Palace Theater is part of the Schwetzingen Palace . It is the oldest preserved ranked theater in the world and the oldest preserved theater in Baden-Württemberg . Other names are: court theater, court opera , or Comoedienhaus . The name rococo theater, which is currently often used officially, is, however, incorrect in terms of architectural history.
Building history
Under the government of Elector Carl Theodor (Elector Palatinate 1743–1799, Elector of Bavaria 1777–1799) the palace complex was used intensively and expanded. The theater was built by Nicolas de Pigage in 10 weeks in 1752 and expanded again in 1762. On June 15, 1753, it was opened with Ignaz Holzbauer's opera “Il figlio delle selve” . It is attached to the northern circular building of the castle with a north-west oriented longitudinal axis. The main entrance to the boxes and the ground floor is from there. A section of the circular building itself is now used as a foyer and cloakroom .
After Karl Theodor moved his residence to Munich in 1778 , there were only occasional performances in Schwetzingen when the respective elector was visiting. Even in the time of Baden , the theater was rarely used. It fell into disrepair and could no longer be used. Towards the end of the 19th century the theater was only used as a drying room for hops .
In 1937 a thorough renovation and redesign took place. The historical stage machinery and the benches in the auditorium were removed. Another renovation took place in 1952. After that, the theater building was used again frequently for performances of concerts, operas and plays and since then has been the main venue of the Schwetzingen Festival together with neighboring halls .
A general renovation in 1974 led to the demolition and reconstruction of the stage building.
In 2003–2005 the auditorium and the roof of the Northern Circle were restored. The auditorium still largely has the original structure and classicist version of the 1770s. Its area, 190 m², makes up about a third of the entire theater building and offers 512 seats. Since 2005, the theater tour has been supplemented by a model of the baroque stage machinery in 2nd tier. The functional model shows the stage house (lower stage) with its historical stage machinery.
Todays use
In addition to baroque and classical operas, contemporary operas are also performed in the theater during the Schwetzingen Festival of the SWR . Since 1952, more than 35 opera compositions have been commissioned and premiered in the palace theater . The composers include Werner Egk , Hans Werner Henze , Aribert Reimann , Salvatore Sciarrino , Udo Zimmermann and Adriana Hölszky . In addition to the opera program, concerts are the second pillar of today's theater business. Drama occasionally takes place as guest performances. An annual Mozart Festival offers a variety of events.
Worth knowing
Over 50 stage designs by the theater architects Stefan Schenk, Lorenzo and Joseph Quaglio have been preserved.
literature
- Silke Leopold , Bärbel Pelker (Ed.): Court Opera in Schwetzingen. Music, theater, architecture. Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 3-8253-1524-X . (Comprehensive standard work)
- Hans Joachim Scholderer: Palace Theater Ludwigsburg. Ed. Ministry of Finance Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart 1998. (In particular on lost, comparable stage technology.)
Web links
- Schwetzingen Castle at schloesser-magazin.de (Castle Administration BW)
- Winter in Schwetzingen (Heidelberg Theater)
Coordinates: 49 ° 23 ′ 7.4 " N , 8 ° 34 ′ 7.1" E