San Materno Theater
The Teatro San Materno is a building in Ascona that was built in 1927–1928 by architect Carl Weidemeyer based on an idea by the expressive dancer Charlotte Bara (1901–1986).
The building is considered to be the first chamber theater in Switzerland to be constructed according to modern construction criteria . As a prime example of rationalist architecture , it was included in the cantonal register of monuments on October 16, 1995. Today it is classified as an A property and has thus achieved the highest Swiss protection level.
history
The Belgian textile industrialist Paul Bachrach and his wife Elvire moved to Ascona after the First World War , where they lived in the Castello San Materno and played an important role in what was then Ascona with its artists around Monte Verità . Paul Bachrach commissioned the building for his daughter Charlotte Bara [Ba (ch) ra (ch)] from Carl Weidemeyer, whom he had met personally in Worpswede on the Barkenhoff in 1918 . It should be a “temple of dance” and it should be able to be used both as a dance school and as a theater.
Charlotte Bara ran the Teatro San Materno as a dance theater for as long as her health and age allowed. During the Second World War and until 1952, refugees and persecuted people were also housed in the theater. From 1973 to 1982 the Jehovah's Witnesses used the theater premises. The apartments on the mezzanine and first floor were rented as holiday apartments until 1986.
The theater was assigned to the Ascona community in 1978, while the neighboring Castello was bequeathed to the Ascona community in a will after the death of Charlotte Rütters-Bachrach.
From 1982 to 1998, Michel Poletti used the building to organize various events.
In 2006 the Teatro Materno was restored according to the principles of monument conservation. In addition to the general renovation and repair of damage, a modern infrastructure had to be created. For this purpose, the basement was expanded and a toilet block was built into the slope on the level of the hall. For better and handicapped accessible access, a lift system was built into the retaining wall, whereby care was taken that it was built “around the corner”. The newly created parts of the building are invisible from the outside, and the elevator does not impair the view from the main entrance onto the theater forecourt. The artist's cloakroom was relocated to the living area on the mezzanine floor and connected to the ancillary stage area with an internal staircase. An attempt was made to restore the original color scheme outside and in the rooms. The artist's apartments on the upper floor were also restored as true to the original as possible.
location
The building is located on Via Losone 3 and, like the neighboring Castello San Materno, lies on the edge of the eastern ridge of Monte Verità.
building
The building consists of four levels: the basement or basement, the main or ground floor with the theater hall, the mezzanine and the upper floor.
The individual building sections or floors were originally only connected to one another on the outside. Only in connection with the restoration in 2006 was a connection created in the building between the artist's dressing room on the mezzanine and the stage. Previously, the individual floors were accessed with stairs and paths, whereby the location on the slope helped that the entrance was at ground level, i.e. at the level of the site.
Originally, living rooms were located on the mezzanine and the upper floor. These were intended for the theater's students and guest artists.
The theater hall is lowered in relation to the entrance level so that the stage and entrance are at the same height. It offers space for up to 124 people. The steps for the theater hall seating with single chairs can be pushed under the stage to use a larger area for dance lessons. A staircase leads from the entrance hall to an anteroom and above it to the balustrade.
The stage area is 8.5 meters wide and 5 meters deep, which is sufficient for small group dances. The stage can be separated from the auditorium with a curtain.
literature
- Teatro San Materno Ascona Restaurato / Restoration. G. Capelli, Mendrisio 2010, ISBN 978-88-87469-66-0 .
- Letizia Tedeschi: Charlotte Bara, the "santa ballerina" and Carl Weidemeyer, the "touche-à-tout". Notes on the Teatro San Materno in Ascona. In: Letizia Tedeschi, Bruno Maurer (ed.): Carl Weidemeyer (1882–1976). Artist and architect between Worpswede and Ascona. Skira, Milan 2001, pp. 159-185.
Web links
- Official website of the Teatro San Materno (Italian or English)
- Carl Weidemeyer Foundation
- Teatro San Materno on the ETHorama platform
Individual evidence
- ^ Teatro San Materno Ascona Restaurato / Restoration, page 66.
Coordinates: 46 ° 9 ′ 40 " N , 8 ° 46 ′ 25" E ; CH1903: seven hundred and three thousand one hundred sixteen / 113058