Theater Krefeld and Mönchengladbach

Official logo of the Krefeld and Mönchengladbach gGmbH theater since the 2011/2012 season

The theater Krefeld and Mönchengladbach gGmbH is an amalgamation of the former municipal theater of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach . The theater is a three-part house : drama , musical theater and ballet are part of the program. In addition, the Niederrhein Symphony Orchestra is part of the house, and they also take on the tasks of a theater and symphony orchestra .

history

Theater in Krefeld until 1906

A traveling theater in Krefeld is mentioned for the first time in 1776, when the Dobler Acting Society stopped in Krefeld after guest appearances in Wesel and Kleve on the way to Düsseldorf and Cologne . Guest performances by various theater companies followed. A first wooden theater building was erected in 1779 on Lutherische Kirchstrasse. In 1825 Michael Rump had a theater bar built on Uerdinger Landstrasse at his own expense. This wooden building in front of the city, called "tent" in Krefeld, served as a dance, theater and concert hall. Among others, Josef Derossi and his troupe from Düsseldorf, to which Albert Lortzing and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy belonged at times , as well as various “traveling art-makers” performed in Rump's theater . After Rump's death, the indebted theater location fell to his brother-in-law, Johann Bernhard Keussen, who first rented it out and then sold it. In 1859 a private opera company and a theater association were founded in Krefeld, which entrusted the management of the Krefeld theater to the actor Ferdinand Wenzel on his own account. As a principal, Wenzel built up his own acting ensemble, banned shallow pranks from the program and instead relied on Shakespeare , Lessing , Goethe , Schiller and Kleist . Because he could not finance the theater, he went to Mainz in 1865 . Even his various successors could not turn the theater into a profitable enterprise. After the fire at the Vienna Ring Theater in 1881, the city fathers decided to close the theater on Rheinstrasse. In the following years, the Nebeck'sche Saal on the Ostwall served as a venue for traveling troops. A guest performance by the Deutsche Oper Amsterdam in the spring of 1884 established the Krefeld music theater tradition of the “monthly opera”: the repertoire of a guest ensemble, developed in one year, was played within a few weeks. In 1885 the Actien-Gesellschaft Crefelder Stadttheater was founded , which bought the former theater and adjoining building and commissioned the Cologne architect Hochgürtel and the Cologne theater master Rosenberg to renovate the theater. A new tram ensured that it could not only be reached from Krefeld, but also from the neighboring towns of Uerdingen , Hüls and Fischeln . Carl Heuser from Bern was hired as theater director . From then on, the program included not only drama , but also opera . On October 2, 1886, the new Krefeld theater was opened with the Freischütz . On February 10, 1887, the city council decided to support the classical educational theater for three years with 8,000 thalers and granted the "Crefeld Chapel" the right to call itself "Municipal Chapel". In the same year Anton Otto became the new director of the Krefeld Theater. In the second season he introduced the legally valid entry in subscription lists . For financial reasons, Otto decided not to expand the music theater and instead opted for guest performances from Aachen , Düsseldorf, Elberfeld or Essen as part of the monthly opera . Nevertheless, in addition to the municipal subsidy , the theater repeatedly had to fall back on support from the large Krefeld families. In the 19 years of his time as director, Otto developed the Krefeld theater into a popular venue with its own ensemble. A shift in emphasis from speaking to music theater was initiated in 1900 when Reinhold Pester came to Krefeld for the monthly opera. He brought his wife, the prima donna of the Cologne opera Bertha Pester-Prosky and other people from Cologne with him, and within two seasons made himself indispensable for the Krefeld team, so that the city once again wanted its own musical theater. For Otto this was the reason to turn his back on Krefeld in 1906. In his place Pest became theater director. In Mönchengladbach , Pester had already become theater director in 1904.

Theaters in Mönchengladbach and Rheydt until 1906

The theater history of Mönchengladbach begins on December 11, 1862 with a guest performance by the Krefeld Theater in the Noever hall. The comedy " The Glass of Water " was given. Until the turn of the century , Gladbach remained dependent on guest performances. It was not until mid-September 1903 that a theater association was founded at the Herfs inn, chaired by the city councilor and honorary councilor Adolf Friedrich Peltzer. The Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle was inaugurated on November 29, 1903 and the first theater M. Gladbach with Fidelio opened here on January 5, 1904 . The Leonore was sung by Bertha Pester-Prosky. Shortly afterwards Ferdinand Pester became head of the theater and on January 12, 1904, brought the Krefeld theater to Gladbach for a guest performance. From July 1, 1906, Pester ran the Krefeld and Gladbach houses. In Rheydt Roland Müller-Stein had before the First World War Rheydter Kammerspiele launched.

1906 to 1919 - Theaters Krefeld and Mönchengladbach under the same management

Reinhold Pester, theater director in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach since 1906 , engaged the Wagner interpreter Curt Cruciger as Kapellmeister . Cruciger worked in Krefeld with the "Krefelder Kapelle" and in Gladbach with the "Gladbach Orchestra". In addition, there was the commitment of the director Franz Eilers, who was committed to the Bayreuth tradition . The first closed ring was given from April 7th to 13th, 1906 in the Krefeld Theater. During this time, the focus in both cities shifted from acting to opera , particularly to the work of Richard Wagner. Pester and Cruciger mostly rely on the tried and tested, but in 1911 they were one of the first stages in the Rhineland to bring out Richard Strauss ' opera Der Rosenkavalier . Leo Schützendorf took over the role of Baron Ochs. In spoken theater , they almost completely dispensed with innovations, which led to a decline in the acting division.

1919 - The Krefeld City Theater is built

After the end of the war, the city of Krefeld decided to finally take over the finances of the Krefeld theater itself. Reinhold Pester was "demoted" from the leaseholder to director and the Krefeld city ​​theater was created.

The first theater contract from 1921 - The Stadttheater Krefeld-M.Gladbach

After Krefeld's theater was already in the hands of the city, a merger agreement was signed with Mönchengladbach in May 1921, which guaranteed 50 performances in opera and drama . The theater director should be determined jointly in the theater commission, which is made up of equal numbers. Pester is replaced by Otto Maurenbrecher , who again places more emphasis on acting, but without curtailing Cruciger's skills. Maurenbrecher stayed at the Stadttheater Krefeld-M.Gladbach until the theatrical contract was terminated and then stayed for another season in Krefeld. The dissatisfaction of the citizens of Gladbach led to the dissolution of the theater contract. People felt they were disadvantaged compared to Krefeld and called for their own Mönchengladbach city ​​theater . The Theater Culture Association , the Free Volksbühne founded by the later Minister-President Hubert Schlebusch and the Bühnen-Volksbund contributed significantly to this.

The Krefeld City Theater from 1924 to 1943

From 1924 to 1932 Ernst Martin was director of the Krefeld city ​​theater . He developed a program that could also be seen nationwide. Among other things, he received the premiere rights of Lion Feuchtwanger's Calcutta, May 4th and he brought Fritzi Massary , Olga Pawlowa, Paul Wegener , Eugen Klöpfer , Asta Nielsen , Fritz Kortner , Max Pallenberg , Helene Thimig , Klara Ebers and Julie Schützendorf-Körner , among others to guest performances in Krefeld. Also from 1924 to 1932, Franz Rau was the successor to Cruciger's opera director at the Krefeld Theater. Rau and Martin distinguished themselves on the one hand through joint opera performances with a focus on Mozart , but also through the latest productions. Among other things, the German premiere of Rimski-Korsakow's opera Ivan the Terrible and the premiere of Heliodor by the young Cologne composer Gustav Kneip took place at the Krefeld City Theater . In 1928 the spectator wing was rebuilt. At the beginning of the 1930s, however, the theater ran into financial difficulties again as a result of the global economic crisis . As a result, the Association of Friends of the City Theater was founded with the aim of maintaining the theater. In 1932 Hans Herbert Michels took over the post of artistic director, but was replaced by the actor Hans Tannert in 1933 at the instigation of the new National Socialist rulers. Tannert was followed by Rolf Prasch (1935/36), Peter Fassot (1936/37), Paul Trede (1937–1943) and finally Herbert Junkers (1943/44). The opera director Rau was replaced in 1932 by Walther Meyer-Giesow, who was succeeded by Werner Richter-Reichhelm in 1937 after a vacancy of two years. On June 22, 1943, two thirds of the Krefeld city center was destroyed by a bomb attack.

The Mönchengladbach City Theater from 1924 to 1944

The Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle

After the dissolution of the theater contract, Heinz Bongartz first became director of the opera theater in Mönchengladbach in 1923 . He worked on his own artistic and economic responsibility and had to give up after just one season. The city then decided to found its own city ​​theater . The first director was Johannes Heinrich Braach, who, despite recognized artistic achievements, also had to resign in his first season due to mismanagement. His successor Paul Medenwaldt imposed strict austerity on the theater. In 1926 Paul Legband took over the theater from him . When the cities of M. Gladbach and Rheydt were united for the first time on August 1, 1929 , the stages of both cities were also merged. There were now two venues: the Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle in Mönchengladbach and the new house in Rheydt on Odenkirchener Straße. The house was only financially secured when Fritz Kranz came to the Mönchengladbach-Rheydt Theater in 1930 . While Krefeld's theater was saved by the townspeople during the economically difficult season of 1931/32, the artists in Gladbach and Rheydt formed an emergency community under the direction of the artistic director to take over the theater at their own risk and expense. To the astonishment of the citizens, the theater was thus preserved. In the 1933/34 season, the management was handed over to Hans Gustav Schmitz-Mutzbauer. Even after Joseph Goebbels separated from Mönchengladbach and Rheydt in August 1933, the theaters of the two cities remained together under the GmbH Städtische Theater der Gladbach-Rheydter Theaterbetriebe . In 1941, Erich Schumacher became General Manager at Goebbels' request. He stayed in his office until all German theaters were closed on September 1, 1944.

From the end of the war to the merger of the Krefeld and Mönchengladbach theaters in 1950

In 1945 in Mönchengladbach mayor Wilhelm Elfes called back as artistic director Fritz Kranz . The Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle and the Rheydter Haus on Odenkirchener Straße had emerged from the bombing almost undamaged, but they played with a greatly reduced ensemble in unheated rooms. In Krefeld, the theater on Rheinstrasse fell victim to the hail of bombs in 1943. Linn Castle , the Dreikönigenhaus and the auditorium of the Lyceum (today Ricarda-Huch-Gymnasium ) served as venues . Paul Trede, the director of the last war season, was reinstated and replaced in 1949 by Erich Schumacher, who was director in Gladbach from 1941 to 1943. Together with those responsible for culture in both cities, he initiated the merger of the city theaters of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. Neither the Rheydter Theater nor the Gladbach director Fritz Krantz were involved in the merger plans. On April 19, 1950, the councils of the cities of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach signed a theater contract that merged the cities' independent theaters into the "United City Theaters of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach" (VSB Krefeld-Mönchengladbach).

United City Theaters of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach from 1950 to 2010

The early days of the new stage community were shaped by the new theaters in both cities. In 1952, the so-called culture barn with “ Lohengrin ” was opened on Theaterplatz in Krefeld as a temporary measure . On January 12, 1963, the new city theater, which is still used today, was finally opened with " Don Giovanni ". Because Rheydt was not involved in the merger, the house on Odenkirchener Strasse was no longer part of the United City Theaters. Instead, Fritz Kranz founded his own theater in Rheydt . In Mönchengladbach, a new theater was therefore also necessary, which was built in the city center on Hindenburgstrasse according to the design by Paul Stohrer from 1957 and opened in 1959 with the " Meistersinger ". It was not until November 22nd, 1977 that the Rheydter Theater, part of the United Municipal Theaters, and the house on Odenkirchener Strasse, now used as the Rheydter Stadthalle, reopened on November 19th, 1984 as the Mönchengladbach Opera House with Alban Berg's " Lulu ". Because two venues in Mönchengladbach could no longer be maintained in the 1990s due to the tight budget situation in the city, the Mönchengladbacher Schauspielhaus was abandoned as a theater in 1996 against great resistance from the theater people, criticism from the press and protests of numerous visitors and privately rented and redesigned as a musical stage . The world premiere of the musical Gambler took place here on October 26th . Two years later, due to a lack of spectators, bankruptcy was filed. The Opera House Mönchengladbach was after the closure of the theater on the road to Hindenburg Theater Moenchengladbach rebuilt at considerable expense. Although after the bankruptcy of the musical stage, the United Municipal Theaters would have liked to use the theater again and in 2001 even a citizens' initiative was formed with the aim of getting a referendum on the preservation of the municipal theater on Hindenburgstraße and its future use as a cultural site, the city insisted that the budget does not allow this. At the beginning of the 2000s , after a good 50 years of community theaters, renovation and renovation measures were due in both cities. During the 2008/2009 season, Theater Krefeld moved into a hall of Stadtwerke Krefeld in the TaZ (temporary theater). When the Mönchengladbach theater had to be relocated for the 2009/2010 season due to the renovation of the house on Odenkirchener Straße, the dispute over the use of the fully functional and still empty old theater flared up again. Because the city was now planning a shopping center in its place , the theater finally had to move to the Nordpark far outside the city center. In 2011 the theater moved back to its location on Odenkirchener Straße in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt.

• General manager since 1950
  • 1950–1959 Erich Schumacher
  • 1958–1966 Herbert Decker
  • 1966–1984 Joachim Fontheim
  • 1985–1991 Eike Gramss
  • 1991–1996 Wolfgang Gropper
  • 1996–2010 Jens Pesel
  • since 2010 Michael Grosse

• General music directors since 1950
  • 1950–1969 Hubert Römer , stage name Romanus Hubertus
  • 1969–1976 Robert Satanowski
  • 1977–1982 Lothar Zagrosek
  • 1982–1988 Reinhard Schwarz
  • 1988-1994 Yakov Kreizberg
  • 1995-2002 Anthony Bramall
  • 2002–2003 Othmar Mága (acting)
  • 2004-2012 Graham Jackson
  • since 2012 Mihkel Kütson

Since January 2011 - Theater Krefeld and Mönchengladbach gGmbH

On January 1, 2011, the United Municipal Theaters were converted into a non-profit GmbH . In the course of the conversion, the concept of “theater with a future” was agreed with the two shareholders, City of Krefeld and City of Mönchengladbach. This secures the subsidies from the cities and austerity measures on the part of the theater for five years each. The concept was implemented for the first time in 2010–2015 and led to a successful occupancy rate of 82% in the community theater. For the years 2015–2020 the solidarity pact was renewed by both cities. A third edition 2020–2025 is being planned. In 2016 and 2017 the Welcome Now festival took place in Krefeld , the proceeds of which went to the Krefeld Refugee Council. Musicians (including Fog Joggers , Patrick Richardt , Horst Hansen Trio ) and poetry slammers performed there. In 2018 the festival took place in Mönchengladbach.

Venues

In Krefeld

• City Theater Krefeld

  The building of Gerhard Graubner with its distinctive copper roof was opened on 12 January 1963, provides for the conversion 726 spectators. The € 9.5 million renovation of the house was completed in September 2009. The theater took place during the renovations in the TaZ - temporary theater.

• Factory Heeder

  The Krefeld studio stage with 107 seats is housed in the former Krefeld wallpaper factory Heeder . Events of the theater's youth club are also held here.

• Venues in Krefeld
• 

  City Theater Krefeld

• 

  Factory Heeder

In Mönchengladbach

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• Mönchengladbach Theater

  The building was designed as a town hall for the then independent city of Rheydt by Walter Fischer, Hans Poelzig and Max Littmann . Construction began in 1928. The town hall was inaugurated on October 4, 1930. During the war, the town hall was temporarily used as a hospital and reopened on December 26, 1945. After the municipal reorganization, the town hall was converted into an opera house in May 1982 according to the plans of the Düsseldorf architects Hentrich , Petschnigg and Partner and on November 29, 1984 Mönchengladbach Opera House was the venue for the United Municipal Theaters of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. After the sale of the Mönchengladbach playhouse in 1996, the plays also moved to the Rheydt opera house, which has since been called the Mönchengladbach Theater. It houses three stages and halls: the studio (approx. 99 seats) for smaller performances, the concert hall mainly for concerts of the Niederrheinische Symphoniker , political and other events and the opera hall (approx. 778 seats) for drama, ballet and Musical theater productions. The theater café linoleic with its beer garden in the adjacent park is also housed here. The city hall has been renovated since the 2009/2010 season to ensure better fire protection. The theater is due to move back to Rheydt for the 2011/2012 season.

  

  Theater Krefeld and Mönchengladbach - location Mönchengladbach-Rheydt

• TiN (Theater im Nordpark)

  For the renovation seasons 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 a former military hall in Mönchengladbacher Nordpark was completely renovated. The alternative venue had a large hall with approx. 560 seats and a small hall with approx. 275 seats. In addition, special events were held regularly in the foyer. In 2011 the theater moved back to Odenkirchener Straße.

management

(Status: 2017)

• General manager : Michael Grosse
• General Music Director: Mihkel Kütson
• Managing directors : Michael Grosse and Michael Magyar
• Opera director and deputy general manager: Andreas Wendholz
• Acting director: Matthias Gehre
• Ballet Director: Robert North
• Chief dispatcher: Christoph Erpenbeck

Ensemble members (selection)

play

Paula Emmrich Nele Jung Esther Wedge Anna Pircher Vera Maria Schmidt Carolin Schupa Eva ridicule Johanna Maria Burkhart

Joachim Henschke Henning Kallweit Christopher vuz Lerchenfeld Adrian Linke Michael Ophelders Philipp Sommer Paul Steinbach Ronny Tomiska Bruno Winzen

Musical theater

Janet Bartolova Eva Maria Günschmann Debra Hays Gabriela Kuhn Susanne Seefing Sophie Witte Franz Crass Hermin Esser

Rafael Bruck Hayk Dèinyan Markus Heinrich Andrew Nolen Kairschan Scholdybayew Johannes Schwärsky Matthias Wippich

literature

• Well, oh ... a commemorative publication for the 50th anniversary of the United City Theaters of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. United City Theaters Krefeld and Mönchengladbach, 2000.
• Hans Martin Frese: Comedians. Theaters in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. Joh. Van Acken, Krefeld, 1984.
• Britta Marzi: Theater in the Province. The case study Krefeld (1884–1944 / 45). Dissertation (FU Berlin), 2011.

Web links

• Website of the Krefeld and Mönchengladbach theaters
• Sketches and architectural drawings for the Krefeld City Theater , made by Gerhard Graubner . (Holdings of the Architecture Museum of the TU Berlin )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hans Martin Frese: Comedians. Theaters in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. Joh. Van Acken, Krefeld, 1984.
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ http://www.krefeld.de/C1256D480036412E/html/E443D139FE7CD14BC1257404002B5743/$FILE/AB10-08Inter.pdf?Openelement  ( 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.  
4. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.an-online.de/news/topnachrichten-detail-an/1032015?_g=Theater-in-Moenchengladbach-muss-saniert-haben
5. ↑ Mönchengladbach: Revue 'Wir sind Borussia' instead of theater ball in March 2017. In: RP.online. Retrieved September 20, 2017 . 
6. ↑ By Christoph Elles: Theater Board of Trustees: The future lies in calm. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung. March 25, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2017 . 
7. ^ Georg Kasch: The future of the Krefeld Theater Mönchengladbach secured. In: nachtkritik.de. June 30, 2013, accessed September 20, 2017 . 
8. ^ Inge Schnettler: Mönchengladbach: Theater of the future is not up for discussion. In: RP.online. Retrieved September 20, 2017 . 
9. ↑ Klaus M. Schmidt: “Welcome Now” festival as a successful welcoming culture. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung. May 27, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2017 . 
10. ↑ Welcome Now Festival 2018 - Theater Krefeld Mönchengladbach. Retrieved October 8, 2019 . 
11. ↑ RP ONLINE: Mönchengladbach: Revue 'Wir sind Borussia' instead of theater ball in March 2017. Accessed on September 20, 2017 .