City Theater Langenthal
The Stadttheater Langenthal in Switzerland is a theater and representative building in the Oberaargau metropolis of Langenthal . In addition to its function as a guest theater with a varied cultural offer, the house is available to companies, institutions and associations as well as the city itself for their activities as a conference location. The Langenthal City Theater, built between 1914 and 1916, is included in the inventory of buildings worthy of protection.
business
The Stadttheater Langenthal does not have its own ensemble . The program is played exclusively by guest performers from all over the German-speaking area. The annual program for the season from October to April usually contains around 24 official productions, consisting of classical and contemporary plays , operettas , musicals and operas . In addition, events take place for the account and risk of third parties, i. H. the house is rented out for all kinds of events. A total of around 70 events are on the program each season.
The theater commission is responsible for supervising the running of the theater, which also finally decides on the composition of the annual performance program. The city administration is responsible for the secretariat, the implementation of the Commission's decisions and the administrative management of the company. The stage manager and his deputy (technical employee) as well as the whole group of part-time helpers are responsible for the technical area.
The slightly rising “parquet” has 318 seats and the gallery has 128 seats. Thus, 446 people can be seated in the theater hall. The orchestra pit offers space for 32 musicians and can be covered and made fully accessible if necessary.
history
The municipality of Langenthal emerged as the principal heiress from the will of Arnold Geiser , a citizen of Langenthal and city architect of Zurich, who died in 1909 . Arnold Geiser bequeathed the legacy of approximately CHF 100,000.00 to the Langenthal community with the stipulation that the fortune would be used for the construction of a concert and theater hall. The testamentary conditions could be met: after four years of planning work and after the approval of the building draft by the voters on December 17, 1914, the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the city theater became possible. After exactly two years of construction, the theater was officially opened on December 17, 1916. Since then, the buildings and technical facilities have always been kept in good condition. At the beginning of the 1940s, the basement was expanded and turned into a local command system for the air protection organization at that time. In the years 1945/46 various smaller conversions were carried out on the ground floor. In 1955 the entire theater was completely renovated, whereby the architectural character was basically retained. The heating system was then converted to gas as an energy source. In the course of time, major new renovation work became necessary. In the first stage, the building facades were completely renovated in the summer of 1983, technical equipment was refurbished and various adjustments were made to the fire regulations at a cost of CHF 803,000.00. The second stage with the renewal of the technical stage equipment, with a comprehensive renovation of the foyer area and an adaptation of various other operating systems to today's needs would be due, but was postponed for financial reasons.
literature
- Stadttheater Langenthal, Langenthal BE . In: Andreas Kotte (Ed.): Theater Lexikon der Schweiz . Volume 3, Chronos, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0715-9 , p. 1725.
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Coordinates: 47 ° 12 '50 " N , 7 ° 47' 19" E ; CH1903: six hundred twenty-six thousand five hundred twelve / 229276