Max Bachur

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Max Bachur photographed by Arnold Mocsigay

Max Bachur (born April 25, 1845 in Fraustadt , † July 8, 1920 in Aachen ) was a German theater director .

Live and act

Max Bachur came in 1877 from Breslau , where he had completed his training, to the Bernhard Pollini theater in Hamburg . Here he initially worked as a cashier and, after Pollini's death, took over the lease of the Altona Theater and the post of director of the Hamburg City Theater and the Thalia Theater together with Franz Bittong in 1897 . Bachur and Bittong had to solve several problems: the Thalia theater had been considered culturally insignificant for a long time and the city theater had lost its best artists. When the Deutsches Schauspielhaus opened in September 1900 , both of them also faced competition for the first time in the field of upscale acting.

After Bitton died in 1904, Bachur continued to run the three theaters alone. He managed to solve the problems of the stages solidly, but lackluster. He put together a new ensemble for the city theater and gave the stage a good reputation with guest appearances by famous singers. Bachur managed to hire the famous tenor Enrico Caruso , who appeared there from 1906. One of his best decisions was to hire the conductor Gustav Brecher and the director Leopold Jeßner .

Between 1903 and 1912, Brecher worked as the first conductor at the city theater. He found new forms of expression for operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and frequently heard pieces by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss . The great soprano arias were performed by Edyth Walker . Leopold Jeßner worked at the Thalia Theater from 1904 to 1915. There he developed a newer, more modern repertoire and established other forms of performance. In particular, Frank Wedekind's often discussed dramas were considered to be theatrical highlights. As a result, the venue clearly gained in reputation and was able to compete with the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.

Bachur therefore campaigned for a new state-funded building for the Hamburg City Theater. After the Hamburg Senate objected to this, Bachur had a new Thalia Theater built on the horse market , financed from the venue's own funds . The new theater, designed by Werner Lundt and Georg Kallmorgen , opened in 1912.

In the period that followed, the commercial operation of the Hamburg City Theater became increasingly difficult. The repertoire of the stage also suffered from an edition from the time of the previous director Pollinis, according to which the theater had to offer several branches. This agreement had previously been intended to secure the existence of the theaters in Hamburg and Altona, but the Hamburg theater, which mainly played spoken plays, now lost its level. Bachur therefore did not extend the expiring lease agreements. From 1912 onwards, Hans Loewenfeld directed the two city theaters on almost the same terms as Bachur before. The Thalia Theater was taken over by Hermann Röbbeling at the end of 1914 .

Max Bachur died in Aachen, where he was taking a cure. His grave can be found in the Ohlsdorf Jewish cemetery .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Bachur, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theater director
DATE OF BIRTH April 25, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Woman city
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1920
Place of death Aachen