Kleist Theater Frankfurt (Oder)
The Kleist Theater was an opera and theater that opened in Frankfurt (Oder) in 1945 . It was named in 1952 after the city's most famous son, the writer Heinrich von Kleist . In 2000 the communal facility closed.
history
City Theatre
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From 1840 to 1842, a theater building was built at Wilhelmsplatz 22 (later Platz der Republik ) according to the designs of Karl Friedrich Schinkel by city planner Emil Flaminius , which opened on November 1, 1842 with Lortzing's opera Zar und Zimmermann and from then on housed the Frankfurt City Theater . The theater originally had 800, later 609 seats. In the spring of 1945 it was destroyed by bombs.
New beginning of theater in 1945
After the theater building in the city center was destroyed, the actor Bruno Karl reactivated theater life in the music home built in 1928/1929 according to plans by Otto Bartning in the Nuhnenvorstadt district : in summer 1945 he directed the performance of literary works and organized a first concert. In the spring of 1946 a small team of actors got together and started regular performances in the Musikheim. In the same year, repair work was carried out on this venue, which was completed on May 4, 1946. Parts of the theater fund were secured from the destroyed theater building in the city center . It quickly became apparent that the capacity of 300 seats was not enough. For example, an open-air stage was created in the garden, which opened on June 9, 1946 with the operetta Im Weißen Rößl in front of 1,500 spectators. From January to March 1947, the performances had to be moved to the adult education center because the theater's coal supplies had been confiscated. At the end of March the performances took place again in the Musikheim. Further additions and renovations were necessary: In 1947 the rehearsal room was expanded, and instead of the burned-out north wing, a barrack was built for the technical area .
In 1948 the director Asmus-Bach left the theater and took the ensemble with him. Willy Linke took his place, assembled a new theater group and took care of further construction work. A fore stage was built in and the windows in the auditorium were made smaller. During the renovation work, performances took place again in the adult education center. The theater was able to reopen on April 27, 1948.
The responsible city command of the SMAD had the venue closed briefly in November 1948 because the pieces to be performed had not been approved.
Linke initiated further construction work over the next few years - the foyer was rebuilt, a new rehearsal room as well as a canteen for the employees and a café for the spectators were built.
Theater operation in the GDR era and naming
In 1952, on the 175th birthday of Heinrich von Kleist and as part of the Kleist memorial days , the theater was named Kleist Theater . Extensions and conversions were adapted to the growing needs of the theater in the period that followed. In 1955 the orchestra room was enlarged, technical workshops were built and the entrance was redesigned. A stage was built over the great hall.
At the beginning of the 1950s, agreements on cooperation between the theater and associations, institutions and companies ensured that the cultural offerings were widely used. In addition, they expressed a “friendly relationship between workers and artists”.
After almost twenty years, the technical equipment no longer complied with the applicable regulations and no new building was planned. So in the 1960s, renovation work and major expansion measures had to be carried out. The stage, the foyer, the restaurant and the sanitary facilities were expanded and a new oil heating system installed.
Until the fall of the Berlin Wall , the theater was a subordinate facility of the city.
Kleist Theater from 1990 until it was closed in 2000
The reorganization of the city administration in May 1990 led to the transformation of the Kleist Theater into a directing business . The Philharmonic Orchestra , which had been permanently employed at the theater until then , was spun off in 1993 and became an independent institution of the city of Frankfurt (Oder). From 1992 the administrations tried to find a new venue, because the structural conditions for a modern theater were no longer given. Financial difficulties in the city of Frankfurt (Oder) first led to the downsizing and then to the closure of the cultural institution. On April 22, 2000, the artists said goodbye to their audience with a performance of The Rocky Horror Show .
Culture from 2001 in the newly built Kleist Forum
The Kleist Forum as a new cultural center with a varied program of events opened on March 1, 2001 in the Obere Stadt district , on the Platz der Einheit. Concerts, theater performances, readings, comedy or ballet are presented in the modern rotunda.
Directors
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Selection engagement of actors
- 1969–1972 Ernst Meincke
- 1979–1985 Evelyn Fuchs
- 1978–1986 Rainer Gohde
- 1982–1984 Johanna Schall
- 1992–1994 Matthias Paul
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Musikheim website ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ To the naming of the theater on stadtarchiv-ffo.de
- ^ Website Kleist Forum
Coordinates: 52 ° 20 ′ 42.2 " N , 14 ° 30 ′ 55.8" E