The Stadttheater Rostock, sometimes referred to as the Rostocker Stadttheater, was a theatre in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

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 ...

. Designed by architect

Heinrich Seeling Heinrich Seeling (1 October 1852 – 15 February 1932) was a German architect. Life He was born the son of a bricklayer in the Thuringian town of Zeulenroda, then part of the sovereign Principality of Reuss within the German Confederation. Seel ...

, it was built in 1894. The theatre opened to the public in 1895, and was the largest theatre in the city of Rostock until it was destroyed in an air raid in 1942 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 ...

. The theatre served as the city's primary

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 ...

in addition to hosting other kinds of performances on occasion. The Stadttheater Rostock was particularly respected for its stagings of the operas of

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 ...

, and was referred to as the '

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 ...

of the North'. This reputation was established early in the theatre's history when conductor Willibald Kaehler led several critically lauded stagings of Wagnerian operas from 1897 to 1899. This tradition continued through the rest of the theatre's history, attracting many top Wagnerian singers and conductors, including

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

Eduard Mörike Eduard Friedrich Mörike (; 8 September 18044 June 1875) was a German Lutheran pastor who was also a Romantic poet and writer of novellas and novels. Many of his poems were set to music and became established folk songs, while others were used b ...

, and

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (5 May 190028 May 1973) was a German conductor and composer. After studying at several music academies, he worked in German opera houses between 1923 and 1945, first as a répétiteur and then in increasingly senior condu ...

References

{{reflist Theatre companies in Germany Opera houses in Germany Music in Rostock