Landestheater Niederbayern is a theatre company in

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. It consists of nine districts and 258 municipalities (including three cities). Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, founded in 1952 and offering both musical theater and drama. Under the artistic directorship of Stefan Tilch, it plays at the city theaters of

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

and

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

, at the Theater am Hagen in

Straubing Straubing (; Central Bavarian: ''Strauwing'') is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany, district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Ba ...

and at other regional venues. Its orchestra is the ''Niederbayerische Philharmonie'' (English: Lower Bavarian Philharmonic).

History

In 1952 the Landestheater Neiderbayern was founded under the name "Zweckverband Niederbayerisches Städtebundtheater." Shortly after the end of

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 ...

, the theaters in Landshut, Passau, and Straubing had begun operating independently. As a result of currency reform, the three theaters closed due to financial difficulties in 1950. In February 1952, work was resumed within the framework of the Niederbayerisches Städtebundtheater, at the time still a loose association. The first program included five plays, six

operas Opera is a form of Western 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 li ...

, and two

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the ope ...

. In its first year, the theater did not have its own ensemble, so these first productions were cast exclusively with guests. In the same founding year, the current functional division was established, with the acting division being based in Landshut and the musical division in Passau. On October 5, 1952, the "Zweckverband Niederbayerisches Städtebundtheater" was constituted under the artistic director Erik Wildhagen. Because they also played in venues in Upper Bavaria, they were renamed in 1953 by public law to "Südostbayerisches Städtetheater" (Southeast Bavarian Municipal Theater), the name the theater would bear for the next 55 years. In 1964, the district of Lower Bavaria joined the association. For financial reasons, the association was to be dissolved in 1968/69 at the suggestion of the Bavarian Supreme Audit Office, but the members of the association rejected this. Because the number of non-Lower Bavarian venues steadily decreased over the years, the special-purpose association decided to change its name to Landestheater Niederbayern in 2008. The theater currently employs around 150 people, including 14 singers, 19 actors, and 42 orchestra musicians. The two departments in Landshut and Passau each have their own independent workshops, tailor shops, technical and administrative teams. Theatres in Bavaria {{Bavaria-struct-stub