Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s, musicals,

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and operates several performance spaces. In 2010 the Ruhr district was a European Capital of Culture, Theater Dortmund is a partner of the related program ''

RUHR.2010 Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's Ruhr region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as Essen represented all 53 towns ...

'' in the fields ''Music'' and ''Theater and Dance''.Dortmund
at RUHR2010, including ''Musik'' and ''Theater und Tanz'' (in German)

Stadttheater Dortmund

Dortmund Historische Postkarte Stadttheater

Theater Dortmund's original theatre was designed by architect Martin Dülfer and built from 1902 to 1904. The theater's inaugural performance was of Richard Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'' on 17 December 1904. Busoni's ''

Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...

'' was performed in 1925. The building was significantly damaged from an aerial bombing on 1 March 1943, but remained in operation until 1 September 1944 when the

Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministry ...

of the Nazi government closed all German theatres. A second bombing on 6 October 1944 completely destroyed the original building.

Städtische Bühnen Dortmund

An interim theatre was inaugurated by Theater Dortmund on 12 September 1950, with a performance of Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

''. The Intendant was P. Walter Jacob, who pursued performances of Wagner's operas and more recent works. He staged and conducted Wagner's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' during his first season and conducted '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' the following year. He staged

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

's opera ''Das Herz'' (1930) and the drama ''Eli'' of

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...

(1950). In 1954 the musical comedy '' Die stumme Serenade'' of

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

was premiered. In 1955 Jacob staged

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...

's drama '' Jacobowski und der Oberst'' and played a leading part himself. The theater was mainly used for operas; plays were mostly performed at the ''Theater am Ostwall''. ''Theater Dortmund'' was called ''Städtische Bühnen Dortmund'' (Stages of the City of Dortmund).

Oper Dortmund

The new opera house

Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War I. It was built o ...

opened in 1966 to serve as a venue for operas, ballets, concerts, and for plays which require a big stage. The first performance was ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...

'' of Strauss, an opera which had been performed first in 1911, the year of the works premiere.

Wilhelm Schüchter Wilhelm Schüchter (15 December 1911 – 27 May 1974) was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings. Career Born in Bonn, Schüchter studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, co ...

conducted the

Dortmunder Philharmoniker The Dortmunder Philharmoniker (Dortmund Philharmonic) are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund. The orchestra was ...

. In 1967 he conducted the premiere of the opera ''Eli'' of Walter Steffens after the drama of

, a commission of the city of Dortmund. The orchestra used the opera house for concerts until 2002, when the Konzerthaus Dortmund was opened.

Schauspiel Dortmund

Since 1968 the post-war opera house serves as the main stage for plays. Theater Dortmund also operates smaller theaters for more experimental productions. Schauspiel Dortmund and collective

Tools for Action Tools for Action was an informal art collective working on the intersection of art and activism. As of 2019 it is formalized as Stichting Tools for Action Foundation. It acts as collaboration platform between artists, educators, activists and oth ...

won an award for Cultural Education of the Federal Ministry of Culture and the Media of Germany for 2017 for the project Mirror Barricade.

Konzerthaus Dortmund

Since 2002 the orchestra has been using the newly opened concert hall ''Konzerthaus Dortmund'' as a venue for the orchestra's concerts and guest performances. The planning and founding director was

Ulrich Andreas Vogt Ulrich Andreas Vogt (born 6 August 1952) is a German businessman, director of the Vogt-Gruppe. He was a tenor at the Opernhaus Dortmund and founding director of the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Born in Dortmund, Vogt studied at the conservatory piano a ...

. The Konzerthaus Dortmund is an independent institution, led by Artistic Director Benedikt Stampa since the 2005/06 season.

References

External links

*
Konzerthaus Dortmund
website

on the Dortmund website

on the RUHR2010 website {{Theatre companies in Germany 1904 establishments in Germany Concert halls in Germany German opera companies Theatre companies in Germany Dortmund Ballet venues