Schönbrunn Palace Theater

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Schönbrunn Palace Theater
Schlosstheater Schönbrunn, foyer with openwork ceiling and illusion painting
Schönbrunn Palace Park. Location of the castle theater (to the right of No. 2)
The interior of the palace theater after a performance (from left Violeta Dinescu , Marlos Nobre , Kilza Setti , Renato Mismetti , Maximiliano de Brito )

The Schönbrunn Palace Theater or Music Theater Schönbrunn is a stage in the Schönbrunn Palace in the Austrian capital Vienna . As a baroque theater, it is one of the most atmospheric rooms at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna .

history

As early as the 17th century there were a few theatrical performances in Schönbrunn Park. In 1745, Empress Maria Theresa had the richly furnished imperial court theater built by Nikolaus Pacassi in the wing adjacent to the castle as one of the first castle theaters in Europe and it was opened in 1747. 20 years later it was rebuilt and enlarged by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg .

Under the eyes of Maria Theresa, who herself appeared in operas and theater performances as a young archduchess , the imperial children danced and played, presented live pictures and demonstrated their artistic talents in numerous performances in front of the aristocratic court society. The castle theater initially served as the home stage of the Habsburgs . Here directed Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart their works, several operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck were first performed.

When Napoleon Bonaparte had his headquarters in Schönbrunn, he had the theater renovated and reopened in 1809 with Jean Racine's Phaedra . At the time of the Congress of Vienna , singers from the Kärntnertortheater performed here for emperors and kings.

The palace theater flourished again under Ferdinand I. During the summer months, the Burgtheater ensemble mainly played comedies . In the course of the electrification of the castle in 1898 the theater was also equipped with electric lighting.

Before the First World War , the building was temporarily used for purposes other than intended , it had degenerated into a furniture depot , but from 1919 (after liquidation as a crown property) it was played again in the summer season (due to the heating) by the Burgtheater (under the direction of Albert Heine ) with chamber plays and conversation pieces . However, these ideas had to be discontinued in 1924 for financial reasons.

In 1979/80 the building was extensively renovated due to extreme groundwater moisture: among other things, the stage building had to be completely demolished and its reconstruction had to be supported by a waterproof concrete tub.

Todays use

In 1929 the Schlosstheater was made available as a practice stage for the Max Reinhardt Seminar , which it still plays with the Opera Department of the University of Music and Performing Arts from October to June. In the summer of 2010, extensive renovation work took place in the theater room.

literature

  • Ernst M (oriz) Kronfeld : The Schönbrunn Palace Theater . First part: From Maria Theresa to the French era . In: Hans Devrient (Ed.): Archive for Theater History , Volume I, Fleischel, Berlin 1904, pp. 43–62. - Full text online .
    • -: -. Second part: presentations before Napoleon . In: Hans Devrient (Ed.): Archive for Theater History , Volume II, Fleischel, Berlin 1905, pp. 169–192. - Full text online .
  • Dagobert Frey , Franz Herterich , Karl Kobald, Director of the Burgtheater in Vienna (ed.): The Schönbrunn Palace Theater . Theater and Culture, Volume 11, ZDB -ID 2061067-1 . Amalthea, Vienna 1924, OBV .
  • Oscar Deléglise (ed.): The Schönbrunn Palace Theater . Bauer, Vienna 1947, OBV .
  • Art spaces . Edition December 2009. (Focus: Schönbrunn Palace Theater). University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Vienna 2009, ZDB -ID 2158936-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Theater, Art and Music. A second Burgtheater. In:  Neuigkeits -Welt-Blatt , No. 294/1918 (XLV. Year), December 24, 1918, p. 6 middle. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nwb.
  2. Schönbrunn Palace Theater built on a groundwater lake . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna December 18, 1979, p. 7 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).

Coordinates: 48 ° 11 ′ 12 ″  N , 16 ° 18 ′ 45 ″  E