Cologne Opera

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cologne Opera House on Offenbachplatz (2010)
Cologne Opera, view of Kleiner Offenbachplatz. The exterior renovation is largely complete, the original concrete visibility of the workshop towers restored (2017).

The Cologne Opera is the opera house of the stages of the city of Cologne . It is located in downtown Cologne on Offenbachplatz . Since 2012, due to the extensive renovation of the Riphahnbau, various interim quarters have been used. So far these included u. a. the "Oper am Dom" in the Musical Dome , the Palladium in Cologne-Mülheim and the Trinitatiskirche near the Heumarkt . The Cologne Opera currently uses the Staathaus am Rheinpark in Cologne-Deutz as an interim venue, which results in additional millions in costs every year.

History of the opera

Old opera house

The old opera house (around 1910)

In May 1898 the city ​​council decided to build a representative opera house on Habsburgerring. Until then, opera, operetta and drama shared the city ​​theater in the Glockengasse, which was built according to a design by Julius Raschdorff in the neo-Renaissance style . The Oper am Ring also put on plays in the first season, but was then used exclusively as an opera house. Both houses were run together as the “United City Theaters”. At first the business was still in the hands of a tenant; from 1905 the city ran the theater on its own account.

The first Cologne Opera was built between 1900 and 1902 on Habsburgerring in the historicism style according to the plans of the architect Carl Moritz , who had worked as a city planning inspector in Cologne before he established himself there as a freelance architect. Moritz mixed forms from Baroque and Art Nouveau for the representative building on Cologne's Ringstrasse . The building was praised as a successful synthesis of "cheerful festivity". With its 1,800 seats, it was one of the largest theaters in Germany when it opened on September 6, 1902.

The five-storey high building was kept in light colors and adorned with allegorical figure decorations. The roof landscape, characterized by turrets, domes and gables, was crowned by a bronze genius . The relief of the scarcely clad Apollo in the central gable of the main house caused brief indignation . This was destroyed in a bomb hit in August 1943. The opera house restaurants along with the garden, music pavilion and fountain were attached to the building.

The entire interior was also richly decorated with figural and floral decorations in the form of frescoes , stucco and carvings. The wall paintings in the foyer by Sascha Schneider , the illustrator of the Karl May books , were particularly praised . The ceiling painting in the auditorium represented Prometheus , who presented the people with the divine spark. Unusually for theaters at the time, the ceiling painting was not broken through by a chandelier. Rather, lighting fixtures were integrated into the surrounding stucco elements. The reason given was that they did not want to impair the view of the inexpensive places in the gallery, the "Hahnenbalken", in the city of Cologne. However, this social thought found no counterpart in the foyer , which was divided into classes.

The technical equipment was taken over by the engineering office Albert Rosenberg , which had mainly specialized in theater buildings, and was at the height of its time. Performances in Cologne were often considered exemplary until the 1920s. So was The Flying Dutchman with clouds, steam and wave machine than the performance in Bayreuth rated far superior. The staff and artist rooms were also optimally equipped.

The house's excellent acoustics were particularly praised . The old Cologne opera became a springboard for important singers like Peter Anders and Claire Dux or the conductor Otto Klemperer . Many artists remained loyal to the house for decades, for example the prima donna Elsa Oehme-Förster , who had already sung as a child at the Metropolitan Opera in the opera Königskinder by Engelbert Humperdinck . Until the outbreak of the First World War , festivals were held regularly in the Cologne Opera, with Richard Strauss , among others, conducting.

During the National Socialist era , the Art Nouveau elements of the building , which were considered “ degenerate ”, were largely removed from the inside and outside. Schneider's wall paintings were also painted over. The ceiling painting in the auditorium was retained and expanded. For a short time, the Cologne Opera was considered a small “refuge” for artists. Even after the seizure of power there were festive performances for the “Jewish craft”, and when the German-American Elsa Oehme-Förster was to be dismissed, such a storm of protest stirred that the resignation was withdrawn. With the appointment of the avowed National Socialist Alexander Spring as artistic director, the Cologne Opera soon became a particularly regime-loyal music theater, where a reactionary-late-romantic aesthetic dominated. Not even the works of Carl Orff, which were well funded by Nazi cultural policy, were performed under Spring. For the “Führer birthday” in 1940, Spring had a Hitler homage opera premiered: “Alexander in Olympia” by Marc-André Souchay.

The opera house opened on September 6, 1902 with the third act from Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and was slightly damaged in an air raid in 1943. Despite plans for reconstruction, the building, which had served as a rehearsal stage, registry office and administrative building after the war, was demolished in 1958. The bricks were recycled for the new construction of St. Alban's Church in Cologne's city ​​garden , which was destroyed in the war . What happened to the jewelry is not known. Photos from the 1950s show that the house is in good condition. You can see both the wrought-iron railing of the main staircase and the finely crafted stone carvings that survived the war. In the prestigious location of the opera house, an office building clad with a glass facade was installed for the Federal Office of Administration . This building has served as a hotel since the 1980s. A memorial plaque in the hotel garden has been a reminder of the old opera house since 1990.

New opera

Boxes
Mosaic fountain on Offenbachplatz

Since the construction plans for a new Cologne opera by the architect Wilhelm Riphahn had already been completed in 1954, a new location for the opera house had to be found; the old opera was only canceled in 1958. The city of Cologne opted for the rubble site of the former city ​​theater and synagogue on Offenbachplatz, which it had acquired in 1943. For this purpose, Offenbachplatz (named after Jacques Offenbach ) was newly laid out on the main page. The opera was a commitment to modernity and should therefore be an epitome and forum for “contemporary music theater” in particular. The building was popularly known as the “Indian Tomb” or “Tomb of the Failed Intendant”. On June 4, 1955, the foundation stone was laid for the new opera on Offenbachplatz.

The new opera house does not have any surrounding tiers in the auditorium. Rather, balconies, offset in height, protrude into the auditorium and all provide a frontal view of the stage. On May 18, 1957, the new Cologne Opera House was inaugurated in the presence of the then Federal Chancellor and Former Mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer , as the Great House for Opera and Drama. The first premiere in the new house was Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon . When it opened, the building was praised by the press as the “most beautiful theater building” in Germany. Only the Münchner Merkur noticed that the acoustics in the house were not optimal and that there were “long faces” in the population, as many would miss their old opera house. Long-time ensemble member Klaus Bruch was the first singer who sang a note on stage - even before the first rehearsals - and remarked: "The acoustics are too dry."

Since the inauguration of the opera, many important world premieres have taken place in the Cologne Opera, such as B. The soldiers of Bernd Alois Zimmermann in 1965 or shortly after the opening of Wolfgang Fortner's blood wedding . The last time Péter Eötvös ' opera Love and Other Demons premiered here (2010). In July 1957 the Milan Scala made a guest appearance in Cologne, and Maria Callas appeared on stage as Sonnambula .

The international opera studio in Cologne was founded in 1961 and is the oldest opera studio in German-speaking countries. Seven highly talented young singers have the opportunity to perform as soloists in the children's opera as well as on the main stage under professional conditions alongside experienced stage professionals from the Cologne Opera. The opera studio has already produced numerous great singers, including Anne Schwanewilms .

The design of Offenbachplatz with the listed mosaic fountain was designed by the Cologne painter and sculptor Jürgen Hans Grümmer , and his fountain was inaugurated on December 21, 1966. The mosaic elements were laid by the traditional Berlin workshop Puhl & Wagner , which provided the Cologne artist Grümmer with mosaic fragments from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Apostle's head) and from the bathroom of the luxury yacht “Christina” owned by the Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis .

Children's opera

The opera in 2013 during renovation work

The children's opera is part of the Cologne City Opera and was founded in 1996 as the first children's opera in Europe. From 1996 to 2008 the so-called Yakult Hall in the foyer of the opera house served as domicile. From 2009 to 2015 the old pawn shop in Cologne's Südstadt served as a venue. As a result of the renovation of the opera house, the Cologne Children's Opera is currently located in its interim venue in the StaatsHaus am Rheinpark in Cologne-Deutz. After the renovation work on Offenbachplatz has been completed, the children's opera will have its own theater there. The musical director of the children's opera is Rainer Mühlbach, the director of the children's opera is Brigitta Gillessen, and Ralph Caspers is the patron. The range of productions ranges from fairy tale operas to baroque operas, works of the classical and romantic periods to contemporary pieces and world premieres. Depending on the play and staging, the performances can be attended by children of preschool age, elementary school children, classes in secondary schools and families. For children from 3 years there are mobile children's opera productions that are performed in kindergartens and daycare centers.

The children's opera has staged over 46 new productions and numerous revivals since it was founded. The Cologne Opera is the first opera house to publish a version of the entire opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen especially for children. All four Ring operas will be staged in four seasons: Das Rheingold (2017/18 season), Die Walküre (2018/19 season), Siegfried (2019/20 season) and Götterdämmerung (2020/21 season). The Cologne Opera has commissioned its own versions for this large-scale project: Stefan Behrisch, composer and professor for arrangement in Berlin, is responsible for the arrangement. The approximately one-hour opera versions are created by the management team of the children's opera, Rainer Mühlbach and Brigitta Gillessen.

In the productions of the Children's Opera Cologne, the singing parts are interpreted by the members of the International Opera Studio of the Cologne Opera and supplemented by ensemble members and guests. The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne accompanied the children's opera performances from the beginning.

The Children's Opera Cologne has been UNICEF sponsor Cologne since 2018 and is the first institution ever to cooperate with UNICEF to draw attention to the rights of children according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child .

In September 2019 the Cologne Opera became the OPER! AWARD for the best education program. This honored the social commitment of the children's opera and the theater and school department.

Refurbishment and renovation since 2012

The construction sign for the renovation of the Cologne Opera names the legally responsible construction manager

After the last performance, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , extensive renovation work began in June 2012. The listed opera house is being extensively refurbished and renovated according to designs by the architects HPP Cologne and Theater Projects Daberto + Kollegen Munich. The company Imtech was supposed to install power and air conditioning systems , which however became insolvent in August 2015. An “Infobox renovation” set up in October 2012 provided information on the progress of the work. At the beginning of the renovation, the main venue was the "Oper am Dom" in the Musical Dome . Selected pieces were performed in the Palladium on Schanzenstrasse in Cologne-Mülheim as well as in the Cologne Higher Regional Court and the Trinitatiskirche . The performances have been taking place in the Staathaus am Rheinpark since 2016 .

The reopening of the opera was planned for November 2015 with a new production by Hector Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini . On July 23, 2015, the city of Cologne announced that the reopening of the opera and the theater, which was planned for November 7, 2015, would have to be postponed. In addition, there was a dispute over financial claims from Imtech. Since the contracts with the alternative venues had already been terminated at this point in time, it was temporarily unclear where and in what framework the game operations could be continued. Initially, the reopening of the opera and the theater was expected in autumn 2016. However, Mayor Henriette Reker announced on November 27, 2015 that the opera would not be available in the 2017/2018 season either.

The renovation, originally estimated at 253 million euros, has exceeded its budget several times. In March 2016, the City Council of Cologne increased the approved budget to 347.8 million euros, in August 2016 the costs had risen to 349 million. In July 2017, at a press conference, the renovation costs were estimated at up to 570 million and given as the completion date at the end of 2022.

In November 2019, the construction costs to completion were estimated at 841 million euros. The main problems lie with the installation of the building services, which was not properly planned and therefore went uncoordinated. As early as 2017, it was decided to dismantle the building technology that had already been installed and to reinstall the entire electrical supply, fire protection and ventilation. Therefore there was a temporary construction freeze and new planning. The reopening is expected to take place at the end of 2019, if things go well, in 2024. The construction site costs the city around 80,000 euros per day. As part of a transparency offensive, guided tours for visitors to the construction site take place every two weeks.

profile

The Cologne Opera has 1346 seats and is therefore one of the “big houses”. In comparison, the interim venue, Oper am Dom, has 1,660 seats, making it the largest theater in the city. In the 2016/17 season, the opera organized 220 performances with a total of 106,094 visitors. This corresponds to an occupancy rate of 82.1 percent. The opera belongs to the theaters of the city of Cologne , which also include the Cologne Theater and other theaters . The artistic claim of the house was shaped by Michael Hampe , who was artistic director and director at the Cologne Opera from 1975 to 1995. From the 2009/2010 season to June 21, 2012, Uwe Eric Laufenberg was artistic director of the Cologne Opera, the managing director is Patrick Wasserbauer. The previous deputy director, Birgit Meyer , was appointed opera director in August 2012.

In 2010 the opera gave a guest performance in China. The Ring des Nibelungen was staged twice in a row in Shanghai in September at the Expo 2010 , staged by Robert Carsen , a highlight of the German pavilion. In Beijing , Mozart's Don Giovanni , staged by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, was performed on three evenings in the new National Center for the Performing Arts . At the beginning of 2015, musicians from the Cologne Opera and the Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra traveled to Oman, where three performances of the musical My Fair Lady (directed by Dietrich Hilsdorf ) were staged at the Royal Opera House Muscat .

Awards

In 2012 the Cologne Opera was voted Opera House of the Year by the specialist magazine Opernwelt and its annual survey of 50 international opera critics . This honors the achievements under the artistic director Uwe Eric Laufenberg . At the same time, the opera received the Annoyance of the Year award due to the cultural-political quarrels about the management and the budget of the house, which overshadowed the artistic success of the house. In 2013, the Cologne Opera was named the best opera in North Rhine-Westphalia in the critics' survey of Welt am Sonntag .

Support association

The opera is financially and ideally supported by the Friends of the Cologne Opera eV The friends grant grants for new productions, artist fees and technical equipment. They also support the children's opera, founded in 1996 and recognized by UNICEF as a sponsor. Among other things, young singers from the International Opera Studio are funded .

Directors

Chief conductor

World premieres

World premieres played a major role in the history of the Cologne Opera . In 1926, for example, Béla Bartók's dance pantomime The Wonderful Mandarin was premiered in the old opera on Habsburgerring, and in 1965 Bernd Alois Zimmermann's opera The Soldiers was premiered in the new house .

From 1975 the following world premieres took place:

ensemble

  • Andrea Andonian
  • Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa
  • Emily Hindrichs
  • Aoife Miskelly
  • Regina Richter
  • Claudia Rohrbach
  • Dalia Schaechter
  • Katrin Wundsam
  • Jeongki Cho
  • Alexander Fedin
  • John Heuzenroeder
  • Martin Koch
  • Ralf Rachbauer
  • Lucas Singer
  • Miljenko Turk
  • Luke Stoker
  • Samuel Youn

literature

  • Christoph Schwandt (Ed.): Opera in Cologne. From the beginning to the present . Dittrich, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-937717-21-8 .
  • Carl Hiller : From Quatermarkt to Offenbachplatz . Bachem, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-7616-0853-5 .
  • Hiltrud Kier : The Cologne Neustadt . Schwann, Düsseldorf 1978, ISBN 3-590-29023-4 .
  • Hiltrud Kier: The Cologne Rings . Vista Point, Cologne 1994, ISBN 3-88973-066-3 .
  • Elmar Buck : Cologne, the city and its theater . M.Faste, Kassel 2007, ISBN 978-3-931691-52-3 .
  • Inge Hohberg: The cathedral so close and yet so far . Emons, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-89705-110-9 .
  • Albert Rosenberg: The stage equipment of the new Cölner Stadttheater . Cologne 1902.
  • 25 years of the Cologne Opera House, 1902–1927 . City of Cologne, Cologne 1927.
  • Stage yearbook, 1929 . City of Cologne, Cologne 1929.
  • Children's Opera Cologne. A chronology for the 20th anniversary , ed. Cologne Opera. Köllen Druck, o. O. 2016.

Web links

Commons : Cologne Opera  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Refurbishment at Offenbachplatz: Stage Interim costs around 113.5 million euros . In: Kölnische Rundschau . ( rundschau-online.de [accessed on November 25, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Christoph Schwandt: Hofmüller and the Nazi from Weimar. In: Opera in Cologne. Berlin 2007, s. Lit.
  3. ↑ Cologne Opera Studio ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2013 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. , accessed December 11, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.operkoeln.com
  4. ↑ handelsblatt.com
  5. ^ With "Benvenuto Cellini" for the reopening. ( Memento of the original from October 15, 2014 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. Press release of the Cologne Opera of September 18, 2014 (PDF), accessed on December 11, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.operkoeln.com
  6. ↑ wdr.de
  7. ↑ Millionaire damage : reopening of the Cologne Opera burst. In: welt.de. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ ksta.de
  9. ↑ ksta.de
  10. ↑ ksta.de
  11. ↑ The Opera Building in Cologne
  12. ↑ Musical Dome Cologne on mehr.de , accessed on December 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ stages of the city of Cologne. Retrieved November 25, 2018 .
  14. ↑ a b Stefan Palm, Inge Schürmann: Main committee makes important personnel decisions. Vacant management positions in urban cultural institutions newly filled. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, August 6, 2012, accessed on August 7, 2012 .
  15. ↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger : “The Hunger for Music” from September 21, 2010 ( Memento from November 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
  16. ↑ China blog of the Cologne Opera ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2010 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. , accessed January 1, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / chinablog.operkoeln.com
  17. ↑ Guest performance of the Cologne Opera in Oman. Article from February 23, 2015 ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2015 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. at wdr3.de, accessed on September 10, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wdr3.de
  18. ^ Zeit online, dpa Newsticker from October 1, 2012.
  19. ↑ Opera House of the Year is in Cologne . ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) 3sat -News, October 1, 2012.
  20. ↑ Operas in Cologne and Essen are the most popular. Critic poll. Welt Online , July 28, 2013; Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  21. ↑ Friends of the Kölner Oper eV Tasks & Goals , accessed on August 27, 2019
  22. ↑ Homepage Christoph Dammann , accessed on December 1, 2014.
  23. ↑ City of Cologne reaches an agreement with Uwe Eric Laufenberg. Press release of the City of Cologne from August 28, 2012, accessed on December 11, 2014.
  24. ^ François-Xavier Roth becomes general music director in Cologne. Press release of the City of Cologne from February 14, 2014, accessed on February 14, 2014.

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 16.8 ″  N , 6 ° 57 ′ 6.2 ″  E