Theater Chemnitz is a German municipal theater organization based in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theater take place in its three main venues: * ''Opernhaus Chemnitz'' (for opera, ballet and musical theater) * ''Stadthalle Chemnitz'' (for concerts) * ''Schauspielhaus Chemnitz'' (for plays and puppet theater) The opera company has produced a series of rarely performed works, and several German premieres. The resident orchestra of the company is named the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie.

Opernhaus

Located at Theaterplatz 2 the Theater Chemnitz was designed by the German architect Richard Möbius and built between 1906 and 1909. Following its destruction 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 ...

, it was reconstructed between 1947 and 1951. It was renovated again from 1988 to 1992, and is considered to be one of the most modern opera houses in Europe. It seats 720 people.

Intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

Bernhard Helmich Bernhard Helmich (born 13 August 1962) is a German theatre manager. Activities Born in Idar-Oberstein, from 1981 to 1987 Helmich studied musical theatre directing with Götz Friedrich as well as literature and musicology in Cologne and Hamburg; ...

focused on the presentation of rarely played historic operas, such as Mascagni's ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

'', Nicolai's ''

Il templario ''Il templario'' is an Italian-language opera by the German composer Otto Nicolai from a libretto written by based on Walter Scott's 1819 novel ''Ivanhoe''. It has been noted that Nicolai's work for the opera stage, which followed the successf ...

'' and '' Die Heimkehr des Verbannten'', Pfitzner's '' Die Rose vom Liebesgarten'', Reznicek's ''Benzin'', and Schreker's '' Der Schmied von Gent''. ''Vasco de Gama'', an early version of Meyerbeer's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...

'', was named ''Wiederentdeckung des Jahres'' (Rediscovery of the year) in 2013 by the journal

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 ...

. German premieres have included

Jonathan Dove Jonathan Dove (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birm ...

's ''Pinocchios Abenteuer'', and both '' Love and Other Demons'' and ''Paradise Reloaded (Lilith)'' by

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös (, ; 2 January 194424 March 2024) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and academic teacher. After studies of composition in Budapest and Cologne, Eötvös composed film music in Hungary from 1962. He played with the Stockhaus ...

. Two productions received the German theater award Der Faust in 2007: Prokofiev's '' Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen'', staged by Dietrich Hilsdorf, and the ballet '' Giselle M.'' in a choreography by Stephan Toss.

Stadthalle

Located at Theaterstraße 3 the Stadthalle Chemnitz was built between 1969 and 1974 as a multi-purpose concert hall in the centre of the city. It was opened in 1974 and is the official home of the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie. The orchestra performs a series of ten symphonic concerts there annually, as well as special concerts and chamber music performances. The orchestra also participates in opera, ballet, and musical theater productions in the opera house.

Schauspielhaus

Located at Zieschestraße 28 the playhouse is a new building, opened in 1980, after the former house burnt down in 1976 and was demolished. The repertory is focused on literary drama. Its smaller stage in the east wing, opened in 2011, is dedicated to the performance of premieres and contemporary theater. A smaller stage within the playhouse, formerly ''Kleine Bühne'', is the main venue for the Figurentheater. Performances are staged with traditional

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

s, hand puppets, and

rod puppet A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppeteer's hand ...

s, as well as with free-forms of artistic puppet theater.

''Generalmusikdirektoren'' (General Music Directors; partial list)

* Oscar Malata (1910–1931) *

Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe (14 June 1910 – 12 May 1976) was a German conductor. Biography Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and ...

(1945–1948) * Robert Satanowski (1960–1962) * Gert Bahner (1962–1965) * Dieter-Gerhardt Worm (1974–1993) *

John Carewe John Carewe (born 24 January 1933) is a British conductor and teacher. Biography Very early in his student career at the Guildhall School of Music, Carewe gave up his original intention of being a composer and turned to conducting. His teacher ...

(1993–1996) *

Oleg Caetani Oleg Caetani (born 5 October 1956) is an Italian conductor. Life and career Born in Lausanne, Caetani is the son of Igor Markevitch (1912-1983) and Donna Topazia Caetani (1921–1990), Markevitch's second wife and a descendant of a very old aris ...

(1996–2001) * Nikša Bareza (2001–2007) * Frank Beermann (2007–2016) * Guillermo García Calvo (2017–2023) * Benjamin Reiners (designate, effective 2025)

References

External links

* *
Theater Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Theater Chemnitz
Operabase
Theater Chemnitz
Klassik heute {{authority control Opera houses in Germany Music venues completed in 1909 Theatres completed in 1909 Theatres completed in 1951 Music venues completed in 1951

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 ...

Music in Saxony