Nordhausen Theater / Loh Orchestra Sondershausen

The Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen GmbH, today also TNLOS! called, is the largest cultural institution in the north of the Free State of Thuringia . It was created through the merger of the stages of the city of Nordhausen with the Loh Orchestra Sondershausen at the end of 1991. With around 200 employees, it is also one of the largest employers in the region.

Venues

The Nordhausen Theater (2007)

Theater Nordhausen - evening view (2017)

Sondershausen - House of Art (2011)

Sondershausen castle courtyard - grandstand for the castle festival in the castle courtyard

Sondershausen - the octagonal house

Nordhausen Theater

The building, the Stadttheater Nordhausen , is located at Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße 15 in the city of the same name . In the 2017/2018 season, the 100th birthday of the theater was celebrated, which opened on September 29, 1917 with a festive program of opera and drama. The city fathers decided on December 14, 1912 to demolish the old, dilapidated Tivoli Theater, which was privately owned until 1911, and to build a new, modern city theater in almost the same place. Construction began in 1913 according to plans by the architect Gustav Ricken (1877–1972) ; the shell was finished in 1914. The First World War prevented further work, but not the completion of the modern theater.

When large parts of Nordhausen fell to rubble during the Second World War on April 3 and 4, 1945, the theater was also destroyed. While performances soon took place again in replacement venues, the 30th anniversary of the opening of the theater in 1947 could already be celebrated with the certainty that it would be rebuilt. The city administration under Lord Mayor Hans Himmler and the theater staff were able to convince the Nordhäuser that it was necessary to rebuild the apartments and the theater at the same time. The rebuilt city theater was opened on October 15, 1949. "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was on the program .

In the 1963/1964 season, the theater employees created their own canteen with the construction of the casino in the basement, which was subsequently converted into a theater restaurant. Today it is operated as "Irodion", a Greek restaurant.

Also in the 1960s, the former painting room with the TuD, the theater under the roof, was turned into a studio venue for up to 60 visitors, which is still in use today.

In 1984 the theater was renovated on a large scale. During a nine-month closure - the ensemble performed in replacement venues - not only were the facade and the main staircase and the auditorium being refurbished, but the building was also connected to district heating, a wheelchair ramp was installed and the ventilation system was renewed.

In the early 2000s, the theater received new lamps and a new interior painting. In 2019 the foyer in the first tier was equipped with modern armchairs.

In the meantime, the preparatory work for the first major reconstruction since 1917 and an extension for the theater have begun. In September 2024 the house should shine in new splendor.

Since 2008 the "Echter Nordhäuser Traditionsbrennerei" has also been a TNLOS venue! Specially written premieres such as "Prost, Henriette!" by Nico Rabenald , "Drink! What is clear!" by Achim Lenz or "Veronika, der Korn ist da" by Anette Leistenschneider enrich the distillery museum.

Special houses venues

The city of Sondershausen as the former residence of the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen offers several venues:

in the House of Art in Loh 1c,
in the residential palace and its associated open spaces

The Haus der Kunst is the home of the Loh Orchestra in Sondershausen. Mainly symphony concerts and gala programs as well as fairytale performances by the cooperation partner Theater Rudolstadt at Christmas time take place here.

Sondershausen Castle offers a variety of performance venues. The Loh orchestra plays its series of palace concerts in the Blue Hall and the Loh concerts in the octagon house . The giant hall is now and then the backdrop for special concerts. The ones from TNLOS! On behalf of the city of Sondershausen, the Thuringian Castle Festival in Sondershausen , which has been held annually since 2006 , has so far used the castle courtyard, the pleasure garden and the theater meadow (on which there was a special house theater until 1945) for operas, operettas, musicals, galas, concerts and family operas.

history

The sources attesting to theatrical performance in Nordhausen go as far as 1523, and professional theatrical performance has existed since 1789. In 1807, Mozart's "The Magic Flute" was the first opera to be performed in the city.

In the city theater, which opened in 1917, drama and operetta were shown in the first seasons, and operas as well from the 1919/1920 season. The repertoire always featured a large number of modern plays, and engagement in this theater often turned out to be a stepping stone to larger houses for the artists.

The existence of the theater was at stake several times - and not only because of the destruction of the building in World War II. Inflation as a result of the global economic crisis in 1929 ruined the private operator and endangered gaming operations. As early as the 1940s, thought was given for the first time to merging with the theater in Sondershausen and its orchestra.

After reopening in October 1949, the theater developed into a multi-discipline theater with ballet , drama and music theater . In the GDR, around 250 people were employed in this theater. In 1988 the ensemble was awarded the GDR Culture Prize.

The establishment of the GmbH in 1991 ensured the continued existence of both the stages of the city of Nordhausen and the traditional Loh Orchestra Sondershausen , which in 2019 will celebrate the 400th birthday of its first record. The shareholders of the GmbH are the city of Nordhausen , the district of Nordhausen , the Kyffhäuserkreis and the city of Sondershausen .

Austerity measures by the state of Thuringia led to the drama division being wound up at the end of the 2003/2004 season. Since then, in addition to its own range of operas, operettas, musicals, concerts and ballets, as well as an extensive range for children and young people, drama with the ensemble of the cooperation partner Theater Rudolstadt has been offered. In return, the Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen shows operas, operettas, musicals and ballets in Rudolstadt and Saalfeld.

In 2006 the existence of the theater was again up for debate. The Thuringian state government had decided to cut the funds so massively that maintaining their own ensembles would no longer have been possible. Impressive public protests, including regular rallies in Nordhausen and Sondershausen, led by leading local politicians and the general manager Lars Tietje, led to the conclusion of a new financing agreement that saved Nordhausen / Sondershausen as a production location for theaters and concerts.

Since the 2016/2017 season, the Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen has been headed by Daniel Klajner as artistic director and managing director. Michael Helmrath has been the general music director since then , the director Anette Leistenschneider is the opera director, and the TNLOS ballet, which consists of 12 dancers! is directed by ballet director and chief choreographer Ivan Alboresi.

The repertoire of the Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen combines a broad spectrum, which has resulted in a large audience. In addition to works from the classical opera and operetta repertoire (currently from September 2019, including " Madama Butterfly " by Puccini ), rarely performed works or world premieres are on the program. For example, the operas "Neues vom Tage" by Paul Hindemith in 2007 or " Dialogues des Carmélites " by Francis Poulenc in 2018 attracted the interest of opera lovers to Nordhausen. The world premiere of the opera Die Legende von Paul und Paula by Ludger Vollmer, based on Ulrich Plenzdorf's equally legendary model , already attracted a lot of attention . The ballet brought successfully commissioned works "The Saint" with music by René Hirschfeld (Choreography: Jutta Ebnother) in 2007 and "The Cranes of Ibykus" (Choreography: Ivan Alboresi) in 2018 with the music of the composers in residence Christoph Ehrenfellner premiered . With "Luisa Fernanda" by Federico Moreno Torroba a Zarzuela was discovered for the first time for the German theater repertoire and premiered in Nordhausen in German.

Since 1995 Dieter Dehm's "Stars" were celebrated in Nordhausen, musicals have also been part of the core of the repertoire. At least one has been on the schedule since 2005. In addition to classic musicals such as Bernstein's " West Side Story " or Frederick Loewe's " My Fair Lady ", rock musicals are also interpreted with great dedication. Most recently, Frank Wildhorn's "Dracula" (production: Ivan Alboresi) enjoyed great popularity for three seasons. "The Pirate Queen", the musical by the successful composer Claude-Michel Schönberg ; had its German-language premiere in 2016 in Nordhausen. On the occasion of the Luther year 2017 the theater in the St.-Blasii-Kirche Nordhausen performed the musical "Here I stand. I can't help it." by Daniel Klajner for the acclaimed premiere. Since Advent 2017, the Nordhausen Theater has been the first city theater to be granted the performance rights for the musical " Vom Geist der Weihnacht " by Dirk Michael Steffan, which previously filled the large halls.

In addition to the evening program, the Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen Theater offers a wide range of educational and attractive performances for children and young people. The Junge Theater maintains an active theater youth club, which puts out several productions per season and produces productions for young people with members of the theater company. There is also a senior theater at the Nordhausen Theater with "Die Silberdisteln". Here lay people from Northern Thuringia develop one production per season under professional conditions.

The imminent renovation of the theater, in which many technical details on the stage will be renewed for the first time since the inauguration in 1917, does not mean that the theater will cease to operate. While the annex for the workshops and the ballet is being built, the big house continues to play, and when the main house is reconstructed, the theater can be shown in the new annex.

World premieres (selection)

Eva and her moralist - operetta - music by Guido Masanetz - text book by Helmut Baierl - first performance: January 9, 1958, Theater Nordhausen
The legend of Paul and Paula - opera - music by Ludger Vollmer based on the book by Ulrich Plenzdorf - world premiere 2004, Theater Nordhausen
Bonnie and Clyde - opera - music by Christian Diemer, libretto by Bianca Sue Henne - world premiere April 2017, Theater Nordhausen
Here I am. I can't help it. - Musical - Libretto and music by Daniel Klajner - World premiere: April 23, 2017, St.-Blasii-Kirche Nordhausen
Die Kraniche des Ibykus - Ballet - Composition by Christoph Ehrenfellner based on the ballad by Friedrich Schiller - World premiere: February 16, 2018, Theater Nordhausen

Web links

Commons : Theater Nordhausen - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Astrid Schweimler, Christoph Nix (Ed.): 80 Years Theater Nordhausen 1917-1997 . Verlag C. Kohlmann, Bad Lauterberg 1997.
↑ Hans Himmler: Despite all difficulties . In: Bühnen der Stadt Nordhausen (Ed.): Festschrift 1964 . 1964.
^ Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen GmbH and Förderverein Theater Nordhausen e. V., Editor: A. Eisner (Ed.): Declarations of love to the Nordhausen Theater 1917-2017 . Nordhausen 2017.

51.503527777778 10.79735Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 12.7 ″ N , 10 ° 47 ′ 50.5 ″ E

[1] Astrid Schweimler, Christoph Nix (Ed.): 80 Years Theater Nordhausen 1917-1997 . Verlag C. Kohlmann, Bad Lauterberg 1997.

[2] Hans Himmler: Despite all difficulties . In: Bühnen der Stadt Nordhausen (Ed.): Festschrift 1964 . 1964.

[3] Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen GmbH and Förderverein Theater Nordhausen e. V., Editor: A. Eisner (Ed.): Declarations of love to the Nordhausen Theater 1917-2017 . Nordhausen 2017.