Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district

Bankenviertel Bankenviertel (; ''banking quarter'') is the name of the central business district in Frankfurt, Germany where many banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions are located. It is the most important German financial hub, if not o ...

. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, which was destroyed by bombs in 1944. It was rebuilt in the 1970s as a concert hall with a large hall and smaller venues, opened in 1981. The square in front of the building is still known as

Opernplatz The Opernplatz (Opera Square) is a central city square in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the district of Innenstadt (Inner City) and within the central business district known as the Bankenviertel (Banking District). The Opernplatz is the most ...

(Opera Square). Many important works were performed for the first time when it was Frankfurt's opera house, including Schreker's ''

Der ferne Klang ''Der ferne Klang'' (''The Distant Sound'') is an opera by Franz Schreker, set to his own libretto. Begun in 1903, it was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 18 August 1912. It was the composer's breakthrough to fame, and was frequently perf ...

'' and Carl Orff's ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

'' in 1937. The

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

now plays in the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, completed in 1951.

Historic opera house

The building was designed by the Berlin architect

Richard Lucae Richard Lucae (12 April 1829 – 26 November 1877; full name: ''Johannes Theodor Volcmar Richard Lucae'') was a German architect and from 1873 director of the Berliner Bauakademie. Early life Richard Lucae came from an old Berlin pharmacy fami ...

, financed by the citizens of Frankfurt and built by

Philipp Holzmann Philipp Holzmann AG was a German construction company based in Frankfurt am Main. History Early years The company was founded in 1849 by Johann Philipp Holzmann (1805-1870) at Sprendlingen in present-day Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main as Phil ...

. Construction began in 1873.Groß, p. 50 It opened on 20 October 1880. Among the guests was

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

Wilhelm I of Germany Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany ...

, who was impressed and said: ''Das könnte ich mir in Berlin nicht erlauben.'' (''I couldn't permit myself this sort of thing in Berlin.'') The opening was also celebrated by Mozart's Don Giovanni. The costs increased from the originally planned 2 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

to a multiple. Alluding to the inscription on the

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

:"''Dem Wahren, Schönen, Guten''", ("''To the true, the beautiful, the good''") the folkloristic Frankfurt poet wrote, in his best

Hessian dialect Hessian () is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hesse. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German () of the Rhine Franconian sub-family. However, the Hessian dialects hav ...

: :''Dem Wahre, Scheene, Gute, die Berjerschaft muß blude.'' (''To the true, the beautiful, the good, the citizens must bleed.'')

Concert Hall

The opera house was extensively damaged by bombing raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944, though many of the outside walls and façades survived. In the 1960s the city

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

planned to build a modern office building on the site. The then Minister of Economy in Hessen

Rudi Arndt Rudi Arndt (1 March 1927 – 14 May 2004) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He served in several positions in the Hesse state government, and as the Mayor of Frankfurt between 1972 and 1977. At different poi ...

, earned the nickname "Dynamit-Rudi" (Dynamite Rudi) when he proposed to blow up "Germany's most beautiful ruin" with "a little

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

". Arndt later saved the Alte Oper. A citizen's initiative campaigned for reconstruction funds after 1953 and collected 15 million DM. It ended costing 160 million DM, and the building was reopened on 28 August 1981 to the sounds of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

's Symphony No. 8, the "Symphony of a Thousand". A live recording of that concert conducted by Michael Gielen is available on CD. Alte Oper has venues of different size: * Großer Saal (Large Hall) with 2500 seats * Mozart-Saal, 700 seats * and smaller halls for

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law ** Convention (political norm), uncodified legal or political tradition * Convention (meeting) ...

Gallery

Alte Oper Frankfurt am Main 2012.jpg, Front Alte Oper East Facade.JPG, Eastern facade in September 2014 FFM-AlteOper-HDR--DINA4.jpg, Alte Oper at night Oper1880.jpg, Frankfurt opera house, 1880

References

Notes Sources *

External links

*
Stadt-Panorama Alte Oper
– Interactive 360 degree panorama with day and night views (in German) * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Frankfurt Culture in Frankfurt Opera houses in Germany Concert halls in Germany Tourist attractions in Frankfurt Music venues completed in 1880 Theatres completed in 1880 Frankfurt-Altstadt Bankenviertel Rebuilt buildings and structures in Germany Defunct opera houses Frankfurt Radio Symphony

Historic opera house

Concert Hall

Gallery

See also

References

External links