Theater Aachen is a theatre in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

and

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

s. It is the home of the Sinfonieorchester Aachen. The original project was by Johann Peter Cremer, later altered by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

. Construction on the original theatre began in 1822 and it opened on 15 May 1825. A bomb attack on 14 July 1943 destroyed the first theatre, and the current structure was inaugurated on 23 December 1951 with a performance of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

''.

Conductors

The conductors of the theatre have also been

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of Aachen: *1920–1935

Peter Raabe Peter Raabe (27 November 1872 – 12 April 1945) was a German people, German composer and Conductor (music), conductor. Biography Raabe graduated from 3 schools: the Higher Musical School in Berlin; and the universities of Munich University, M ...

*1935–1942

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

*1942–1944 Paul van Kempen *1946–1953 Felix Raabe *1953–1958

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

*1958–1962

Hans Walter Kämpfel Hans Walter Kämpfel (22 June 1924 – 22 April 2016) was a German conductor, composer and Generalmusikdirektor in Aachen and Bremen. Life and career Kämpfel was born in near Ingolstadt. After passing his Abitur in 1942 at the Wilhelmsgymn ...

*1962–1974 Wolfgang Trommer *1974–1983 Gabriel Chmura *1984–1990 Yoram David *1990–1992 Bruce Ferden *1993–1996 Yukio Kitahara *1997–2002 Elio Boncompagni *2002–2012

Marcus Bosch Marcus Bosch (born 28 October 1969) is a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in Aachen, held the position at the Staatstheater Nürnberg from 2011, and with the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock from 2020. He is the artistic dire ...

*2012–2017 Kazem Abdullah *2017–2018

Justus Thorau Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...

*since 2018 Christopher Ward

References

External links

Official Website of Theater Aachen
Aachen Opera houses in Germany Theatres in North Rhine-Westphalia Theatres completed in 1825 Music venues completed in 1825 Karl Friedrich Schinkel buildings {{opera-struct-stub