The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in

Frankfurt 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 ...

. Opera in

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 ...

has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz 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 ...

'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frederick Delius in 1919, 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. Frankfurt's international recognition began in the Gielen Era, 1977 to 1987, when

Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...

and stage directors such as

Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca th ...

collaborated. A historic opera house from 1880 was destroyed in World War II, and reconstructed as a concert hall, the

Alte Oper Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a concert hall in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district Bankenviertel. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's opera house, which was destr ...

. The present

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 ...

, built in 1963, is under one roof with the stage for drama. The opera orchestra is called

Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Frankfurter may refer to: * Various varieties of sausage ** Frankfurter Würstchen ** Frankfurter Rindswurst ** Vienna sausage, or also called a ''Frankfurter Würstel'' in Austria ** Hot dog, a fully cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or stea ...

. Today's venue for Baroque and contemporary opera is the

Bockenheimer Depot The Bockenheimer Depot is a former tram depot and main workshop of the Straßenbahn Frankfurt am Main, built around 1900. It is located in the Bockenheim quarter of Frankfurt. A listed monument, it now serves as a theatre venue of the Städti ...

, a former tram depot. Voted best 'Opera house of the year' by ''Opernwelt'' several times since 1996, including 2020, 2022 and 2023, Oper Frankfurt is part of the

Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt () is the municipal theatre company of Frankfurt, the largest city of Hesse Germany. The name dates back to 1919. The company is structured today in two organisations, Oper Frankfurt for opera, and Schauspiel Frankfur ...

. It received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2013

International Opera Awards The International Opera Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring excellence in opera around the world. Origins The International Opera Awards was founded in 2013 by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist and supporter of opera, and ...

History

Early history

Frankfurt's first opera was

Johann Theile Johann Theile (29 July 1646 – 24 June 1724) was a German composer of the Baroque era, famous for the opera ''Adam und Eva, Der erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch'', first performed in Hamburg on 2 January 1678. Life After stud ...

's ''Adam und Eva'', performed in 1698 by Johann Velten's touring company. The young

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's first operas in his home town of Frankfurt were productions by Theobald Marchand's company.

1782 – 1880

Opened in 1782, the Comoedienhaus was the first permanent venue of the Frankfurt Theater (drama and opera). In 1878 German violinist Willy Hess took up the leadership of the Oper Frankfurt. He resigned from that post in 1886 to take up a professorship in the Rotterdam Conservatorium voor Muziek.

1880 – 1944

The first representative opera house of the city was inaugurated in Frankfurt in 1880 at

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 ...

. Under the direction of the first Intendant and the first Kapellmeister

Felix Otto Dessoff Felix Otto Dessoff (14 January 1835 – 28 October 1892) was a German conductor and composer. Biography Dessoff was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig; his father was a cloth merchant. His musical talent was recognized by Franz Liszt, who then a ...

, the house was opened with Mozart's opera ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

''. During the 1920s, the opera in Frankfurt had more prominent Jewish singers than any other company in Germany, including the tenor Hermann Schramm, bass Hans Erl (the first King in Schreker's ''

Der Schatzgräber ''Der Schatzgräber'' (''The Treasure Hunter'') is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue by Franz Schreker with a libretto by the composer. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto for the opera in the summer of 1915. He then br ...

''), baritone Richard Breitenfeld and contralto

Magda Spiegel Magda Spiegel (1887–1944) was a German contralto who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentra ...

, who also toured with Frankfurt Opera performing Wagner in the Netherlands. These singers were forced to leave the opera in June 1933. Orff's ''

'' was premiered at Oper Frankfurt in 1937. Jewish members of the opera company among those rounded up at 9 November 1938 at the

Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt, known in English as Frankfurt Festival Arena, is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering ...

, where Erl sang ''In diesen Heilgen Hallen'', from the

Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

for the deportees. Members of Frankfurt Opera were sent to Auschwitz and other camps where they perished.

1945 – 1970s

The opera house was damaged in an air raid in January 1944, and then almost completely destroyed in March. In 1952,

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

became

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

(GMD) and

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 ...

of the Oper Frankfurt, where he remained in charge for nine years. A new house for opera and play was built, completed in 1963 at the Theaterplatz (now

Willy-Brandt-Platz The Willy-Brandt-Platz is a central square in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. Its name was Theaterplatz (Theatre square) until 1992, when it was named after Willy Brandt, the former chancellor. It is located between the Main Station and the Alt ...

The Gielen Era

From 1977 to 1987, Frankfurt Opera was led by

. This decade became known as the "Gielen Era", notable for the music of a conductor who was also a composer, and directors including

and

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 ...

, whose productions of standard works such as Verdi's ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' and Wagner's ''

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

'' were thought-provoking. Operas which received their world premieres at the house were also performed again, including Franz Schreker's ''

Die Gezeichneten ' (''The Branded'' or ''The Stigmatized'') is an opera in three acts by Franz Schreker with a German-language libretto by the composer, based on Frank Wedekind's play ''Hidalla''. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto in 1911 at the r ...

''.

1987 – present

The stage of the opera house was destroyed by a fire in November 1987. The opera house was rebuilt and opened in April 1991. Many famous singers started their career with the company, including

Franz Völker Franz Völker (31 March 1899, Neu-Isenburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse – 4 December 1965, Darmstadt, Hesse) was a dramatic tenor who enjoyed a major European career. He excelled specifically as a performer of the operas of Richard Wagner. He was disc ...

Edda Moser Edda Moser (born 27 October 1938) is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP ' received the Grand Prix du Disque. Life and career Moser was born in Berlin, the ...

Cheryl Studer Cheryl Studer (born October 24, 1955) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated ...

and

Diana Damrau Diana Damrau (; born 31 May 1971) is a German soprano who has achieved international fame for her performances, primarily in opera, but also in concert and lieder. She has been successful in coloratura soprano roles since her early career, and gr ...

, and many established artists have been engaged there in recent seasons including

Christian Gerhaher Christian Gerhaher (born 24 July 1969, in Straubing) is a German baritone and bass singer in opera and concert, particularly known as a Lieder singer. Career Christian Gerhaher studied with Paul Kuën and Raimund Grumbach at the Hochschule ...

, whose roles here have included Monteverdi's ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 318) (), or ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance music, Renaissance/early Baroque music, Baroque ''favola in musica'', or List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a li ...

'' and his first Wolfram in Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

'',

Piotr Beczała Piotr Beczała (Polish pronunciation: ); born 28 December 1966) is a Polish operatic tenor with an international career based primarily in Europe and the United States. He has performed in the world's leading opera houses including Metropolitan ...

in Massenet's ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' and

Jan-Hendrik Rootering Jan-Hendrik Rootering (born 18 March 1950 in Wedingfeld near Flensburg) is a German-born operatic bass, son of the Dutch tenor Hendrikus Rootering from whom he had his first lessons. After further study at Hamburg's ''Musikhochschule'' he began ...

in Wagner's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

''. Since 2002,

Bernd Loebe Bernd Loebe (born 15 December 1952) is a German music journalist and opera manager. After working as a journalist with a focus on opera and voice for the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)'', '' Neue Musikzeitung'', ''Opernwelt'' and Hessisch ...

has served as Intendant of the company. The company's current GMD is

Thomas Guggeis Thomas Guggeis (born 1993) is a German conductor and pianist. He is ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt. Life and career Born in Dachau, Bavaria, Guggeis studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Mi ...

, succeeding

Sebastian Weigle Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Biography Weigle is a nephew of the conductor and music educator Jörg-Peter Weigle ...

, who held this position since 2008 until the end of season 2023–24. Weigle has made commercial recordings of opera with the company for the OEHMS Classics label. Oper Frankfurt was voted "Opera House of the Year" by the magazine ''

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 1996, 2003, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023. In 2023, they were distinguished also in the categories Chorus, directed by

Tilman Michael Tilman Michael (born 1975) is a German choral conductor. He has been choral conductor at Oper Frankfurt since 2014. There and in his previous position at the Nationaltheater Mannheim he led the opera chorus to be voted opera chorus of the year b ...

, World premiere (for '' Blühen''), and Rediscovery (for ''

Die ersten Menschen ''Die ersten Menschen'' ''(The first humans)'' is an opera in two acts by Rudi Stephan. For the libretto the composer chose a drama of the same name by Otto Borngräber. The opera was premiered at the Oper Frankfurt on 1 July 1920. History T ...

''). The company receiced the distinction again in 2024, with recognition also in the categories Chorus and Production (shared) for Wagner's ''Tannhäuser'', conducted by Guggeis and directed by

Matthew Wild Matthew Wild is a South African theatre director and stage director, especially of opera. He was artistic director of the Cape Town Opera from 2015 to 2021. Wild works internationally, directing Boesmans' '' Julie'' at NorrlandsOperan and the Mal ...

. Director of the year was

Lydia Steier Lydia Steier (born 1978) is an American opera director who has made an international career based in Germany. She directed the Swiss premiere of Stockhausen's ''Donnerstag aus Licht'', chosen by critics as "Best Production of the Year" in 2016. I ...

, including for her Frankfurt production of Verdi's ''

'', and Singer of the year John Osborn, including for his Frankfurt portrayal of Éléazar in Halevy's ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...

''. , new buildings for the Städtische Bühnen are planned.

Artistic leadership

The first conductors had the title ''Kapellmeister''. From 1924 it was GMD, who often also held the administrative leadership

(Int.). *

(1880–1892, Kapellmeister) * Ludwig Rottenberg (1893–1924, Kapellmeister) *

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conducting, conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. He founded the Vienna New Year's Concert ...

(1924–1929, GMD) * Hans Wilhelm Steinberg (1929–1933) * Bertil Wetzelsberger (1933–1934) *

Karl Maria Zwißler Karl Maria Zwißler (12 August 1900 – 15 September 1984) was a German conductor, and academic. He was for decades the Generalmusikdirektor and Intendant of the Staatstheater Mainz. He taught conducting at the music universities of Stuttgart and ...

(1935–1936) *

Georg Ludwig Jochum Georg Ludwig Jochum (sometimes hyphenated as Georg-Ludwig Jochum) (10 December 1909 – 1 November 1970) was a German conductor and younger brother of better-known conductor Eugen Jochum. He was born in Babenhausen near Augsburg, Germany. After ...

(1937–1938) *

Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901, Fulnek, Moravia – 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent. Biography Konwitschny came from a family of musicians. From 1920 to 1923 he took violin lessons at the Academ ...

(1938–1944, GMD) * Bruno Vondenhoff (1945–1951, GMD) *

(1952–1961, GMD & Int.) *

Lovro von Matačić Lovro von Matačić (14 February 1899 – 4 January 1985) was a Croatian conductor and composer. Early life Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak, Rijeka, Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, ...

(1961–1966, GMD & Int.) *

Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine von Dohnan ...

(1967–1977, GMD & Int.) *

(1977–1987, GMD & Int.) *

Gary Bertini Gary Bertini (; May 1, 1927 – March 17, 2005) was one of the most important Israeli musicians and conductors. In 1978 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Music. Biography Gary Bertini was born ''Shloyme Golergant'' in Bricheva, Bessarabia, th ...

(1987–1991, GMD) *

Sylvain Cambreling Sylvain Cambreling (born 2 July 1948 in Amiens, France) is a French conductor. Biography Trained as a trombone player, Cambreling studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He joined l' Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon (OSL) as a trombonist in 1971. In 197 ...

(1993–1997, GMD) * Martin Steinhoff (1997–2002, Int.) *

Paolo Carignani Paolo Carignani (born 1961) is an Italian conductor. He has been chief conductor of the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt (1997–2008),Something Sensational p295 William Guy – 2008 "... and this sort of ecstasy is what occurred for me in F ...

(1999–2008, GMD) *

(2002–present, Int.) *

(2008–2023, GMD) *

(2023–present, GMD)

Premieres

World premieres at the Frankfurt Opera have included:

Städtische Bühnen

Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) and

Schauspiel Frankfurt The Schauspiel Frankfurt is the municipal theatre company for plays in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is part of Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. History In the late 1770s the theatre principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established ...

(Theatre Frankfurt) are part of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main GmbH.

Statistics

The opera house has 1.369 seats. , the occupancy rate of the Oper Frankfurt in the 2022/23 season was 81%. About 11 premieres and 15 revivals were shown per season.

References

External links

* * {{authority control German opera companies Opera houses in Germany Buildings and structures in Frankfurt Culture in Frankfurt Tourist attractions in Frankfurt Frankfurt-Altstadt