The Margravial Opera House () is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

opera house in the town of

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

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 ...

. Built between 1745 and 1750, it is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. On 30 June 2012, the opera house was added to the

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World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

because of its exceptional Baroque architecture.

Description

Located in a widened part of the street so that carriages could pull up in front, the opera house is 71.5 meters long, 31 meters wide, and 26 meters tall. The building was constructed according to plans designed by the French architect (ca. 1709 – 1754), court builder of the Hohenzollern

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Frederick of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and his wife Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. The sandstone façade was designed to blend with the surrounding buildings and to reference the Place Vendôme in Paris, with large Corinthian columns. A balustrade stretched across the entire façade, with sculptures of

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, and 6

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

placed atop. The wooden interior was designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena (1696–1757) and his son Carlo from

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in an Italian Late Baroque style. The auditorium was built in a bell shape and can seat roughly 500 people. Intricately covered in gold accents, with a trompe-l'œil ceiling, the interior may have attempted to imitate precious stones like lapis lazuli. Some areas of the interior are covered with painted canvas in order to avoid cracks and improve acoustics. The Court Loge built for the

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

is located opposite the stage, taking up all three box stories. It is highly ornamented with symbols of the House of Brandenburg and is completely preserved in its original condition, except for the curtain which was taken by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's troops on their march to the 1812 Russian campaign. However, The Court Loge was seldom used by the art-minded margravial couple, who preferred a front-row seat.

History

The Bayreuth Opera House was inaugurated on the occasion of the marriage of their daughter Elisabeth Fredericka Sophie with Duke Charles Eugene of Württemberg. Princess Wilhelmine, older sister of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, had established the margravial theatre company in 1737. In the new opera house she participated as a composer of

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 ...

works and ''

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

e'', as well as an actor and director. Today she features in a sound-and-light presentation for tourists. After her death in 1758, performances ceased and the building went into disuse, one reason for its good conservation status. More than one hundred years later, the stage's great depth of attracted the composer

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 ...

, who in 1872 chose Bayreuth as festival centre and had the '' Festspielhaus'' built north of the town. The foundation stone ceremony was held on 22 May, Wagner's birthday, and included a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, directed by Parts of the 1994 biopic '' Farinelli'' were filmed in the Opera House. The theatre was the site of the annual Bayreuther Osterfestival until 2009. Each September from the year 2000 to 2009, the theatre also hosted the Bayreuth Baroque festival, with performances of early operatic rarities. The 2009 festival included performances of Andrea Bernasconi's ''festa teatrale'', ''L'Huomo'', to a libretto by the Margravine Wilhelmine. Bayreuth Baroque was revived in 2020. The theatre closed in October 2012 for extensive refurbishment and redevelopment and reopened on 12 April 2018.

References

External links

Margravial Opera House Bayreuth UNESCO Officiel Website

Homepage (German / English)
{{Authority control Music venues completed in 1748 Opera houses in Germany Buildings and structures in Bayreuth Tourist attractions in Bavaria World Heritage Sites in Germany Theatres completed in 1748