Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectators. The theatre has drawn international attention since 1962 with innovative play productions in the ''Bremer Stil'' (Bremen style). Its opera company was selected as opera house of the year by ''

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

'' in 2007.

Organization

Theater Bremen is a company with four divisions: the ''Oper Bremen'' (Bremen opera), the ''Schauspiel Bremen'' (Bremen Playhouse), the ''Tanztheater Bremen'' (Bremen Dance Theatre) and the ''MoKS Bremen'', short for ''Modellversuch Künstler und Schüler'' (Experimental Modal: Artists and Schoolgoers). The four venues seat up to 1,426 spectators. The musical divisions have collaborated since 1917 with the

Bremer Philharmoniker The Bremer Philharmoniker is the official orchestra of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. In addition to the music theatre in the Theater Bremen they organise 28 Philharmonic concerts per season, various special, benefit and chamber concerts a ...

, an orchestra founded in 1820. The theatre has drawn international attention since 1962, when staged innovative productions known as the ''Bremer Stil'' (Bremen style). Several stage directors and actors shaped the period, and many became well known, such as directors Peter Stein,

Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

Hans Neuenfels Hans Neuenfels (; 31 May 1941 – 6 February 2022) was a German writer, poet, film producer, librettist, theatre director, opera director and theatre manager. As a director, he first focused on drama, staged at prominent houses such as the Vien ...

and

Johannes Schaaf Johannes Schaaf (7 April 1933 – 1 November 2019) was a German film, theatre and opera director and actor. Several of his films have been internationally recognized. His focus shifted to opera in the 1980s and he worked with many of the leading i ...

, and actors

Edith Clever Edith Clever (born 13 December 1940, in Wuppertal) is a German actress. Filmography *1976: ' *1976: Die Marquise von O. ('' Die Marquise von O'') *1978: Die linkshändige Frau ('' The Left-Handed Woman'') *1979: Mädchenjahre ('' L'Adolescent ...

Jutta Lampe Jutta Lampe (13 December 1937 – 3 December 2020) was a German actress on stage and in film. She was for 30 years a leading actress at the Schaubühne founded in Berlin by her husband Peter Stein, where she played both classical theatre such a ...

Margit Carstensen Margit Carstensen (29 February 1940 – 1 June 2023) was a German theatre and film actress, best known outside Germany for roles in the works of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She appeared in films of directors Christoph Schlingensief ...

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

, and

Rolf Becker Rolf Becker (born 31 March 1935 in Leipzig) is a German television and voice actor known for his role of Otto Stein in the soap opera ''In aller Freundschaft''. Early life From 1945 he attended the Alte Gymnasium in Bremen. After graduating f ...

Location and venues

The buildings of Theater Bremen are located east of the Old Town next to the . They are close to the museums

Gerhard Marcks House The Gerhard Marcks Museum or Gerhard Marcks House () is a museum in Bremen, Germany, inspired by the work of the sculptor and graphic artist Gerhard Marcks. The museum exhibits contemporary sculpture, including the work of Marcks. Building histor ...

and

Wilhelm Wagenfeld House Wilhelm Wagenfeld House () is a design museum and exhibition centre in Bremen, Germany. Completed in the Neoclassical style in 1828, the building now carries the name of Bremen-born Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1900–1990), a major contributor to the 20 ...

, the , the central library of the and the

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded several more times, ...

, forming the so-called ' (culture mile). The theatre buildings are located in one city block and connected in architecture. They are known as the Theater am Goetheplatz, Kleines Haus, Moks and Brauhauskeller. The

Theater am Goetheplatz The , also incorrectly known as the , is the main theatre of the city of Bremen in the north of Germany, the main venue of Theater Bremen. Completed in 1913 in the Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it is located in the cultural distri ...

was opened in 1913 as a playhouse with a play by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. It was destroyed in World War II and restored as a theatre for opera and plays. Reopened in 1950, it seats 800 people. The Kleines Haus was remodelled in the 2012/13 season, seating up to 200 people, and presents plays and dance theatre. The foyer has a stage called "noon" for chamber concerts, lectures and other events. Moks is a theatre for children and youth, offering performances for school classes in the morning and young people and their families in the evening. All spectators are close to the stage. The quality of productions has been regarded as high, receiving more than regional attention. Several plays were presented at a theatre competition. The Brauhauskeller is located in the basement vaults of the former St. Pauli brewery. A small stage is intended for events for up to 60 spectators. It is the venue for the group Junge Akteure (young actors), which was founded in 2005, based on the Moks, as the theatre school of Theater Bremen. The stage is narrow and long, requiring unconventional sets. The theatre has around 400 employees.

Awards

In 1979, Theater Bremen was named ' (theatre of the year) by ''

Theater heute ''Theater heute'' (German: ''Theatre Today'') is a German language monthly magazine with a special focus on theatre. The magazine is based in Berlin, Germany, and has been in circulation since 1960. History and profile ''Theater heute'' was foun ...

''. A 1997 production of Verdi's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' was awarded the . In 2007, the Theater Bremen was named ''Opernhaus des Jahres'' (Opera House of the Year) by ''

'', along with the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...

. The ''Europäischer Toleranzpreis'' (European tolerance prize) of the KulturForum Europa was given for 's opera ' in 2009.

Literature

* Hermann Tardel (ed.): ''Studien zur Bremischen Theatergeschichte''. Oldenburg 1945 * Franz Reichert: ''Durch meine Brille''. Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1986, * Michael Mrukwa: ''Das Bremer Staatstheater und das Bremer Schauspielhaus von 1933–45''. Master's thesis, Bremen 1987 * Bremer Theater der Freien Hansestadt Bremen GmbH, Senator für Kultur und Ausländerintegration der Freien Hansestadt Bremen (ed.): ''200 Jahre Theater in Bremen''. WMIT-Druck-u. Verlags GmbH, Bremen 1993, *

Herbert Schwarzwälder Herbert Schwarzwälder (14 October 1919 – 11 September 2011) was a German historian. With his decades of work and his extensive publications, he has had a major influence on the research and communication of the . Life Schwarzwälder was born ...

: ''

Das Große Bremen-Lexikon ''Das Große Bremen-Lexikon'' is an 18th-century encyclopaedia by the Freie Hansestadt Bremen, written by Herbert Schwarzwälder about * the region, as Territory of Bremen, as Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (Bremen Archbishopric), as Bremen-Verd ...

'', , Bremen 2003, * Lutz-Uwe Dünnwald (ed.): ''Theater am Goetheplatz. Sanierung 2003–2004''. Isensee GmbH, Oldenburg 2005 * Frank Schümann: ''Bremer Theater 1913–2007''. Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 2007, * Klaus Pierwoß, Helmut Brade, Frank Schümann: ''Bremer Theater: Intendanz Klaus Pierwoß 1994/95–2006/07'', Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 2007, *

References

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

15 June 2008
Theater Bremen
(reviews, in German) nachtkritik.de * {{Authority control Culture in Bremen (city) Theatres in Germany Buildings and structures in Bremen (city)

Organization

Location and venues

Awards

Literature

References

External links