The Strasbourg Opera House (), located on
Place Broglie
The Place Broglie (''Bröjel'' in Alsatian German) is one of the main squares of the city of Strasbourg in the French departement of Bas-Rhin.
The square is located on the Grande Île, the ancient city center, and has an elongated rectangul ...
on the
Grande Île in the city center of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, in the French department of the
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
, is the main seat and mother house of the
opera company Opéra national du Rhin. It has been classified as a
Monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
since 1921.
History
After a fire in 1800 that destroyed a previous
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 ...
, also located on Place Broglie, the Strasbourg municipality set up plans for a new one in 1804. As the
Napoleonic Empire came and went, the plans for the ''théâtre municipal'' were altered several times, until the building, designed in the
Neoclassical style
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...
by architect Jean-Nicolas Villot (1782–1857) finally opened to great acclaim in 1821. The monumental façade is adorned by
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
statues of six
muse
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 ...
s by
Landolin Ohmacht (three muses were left out:
Clio
In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing.
Etymology
Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...
,
Thalia and
Urania
Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass.
T ...
), each statue corresponding to a
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
below.
During the
Siege of Strasbourg
The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870.
After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General ...
in 1870, the opera was heavily damaged by
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n artillery. It was faithfully rebuilt by the architect , who also rebuilt the
Hôtel de Klinglin
The Hôtel de Klinglin, currently known as the Hôtel du Préfet, is a historic building located near Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin. It has been classified as a Monumen ...
nearby, and reopened in 1873. In 1888, a semi-circular wing was added at the rear by Johann-Karl Ott (1846–1917).
The
auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...
has 1,142 seats and a height of from the floor to the ceiling.
It has seen performances being conducted by
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...
,
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...
,
Otto Klemperer
Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...
and
George Szell
George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...
.
Gallery
Strasbourg Opéra 02.JPG, Façade and southern side
Strasbourg opéra de Strasbourg vu du pont du Théâtre juin 2013.jpg, Rear and northern side seen from ''Pont du théâtre''
Strasbourg Opéra 03.JPG, Polyhymnia
Polyhymnia (; ), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime.
Etymology
Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly" ...
and Melpomene
Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask.
Etymolog ...
on top of the façade
Strasbourg - Opera - Figure 02.jpg, Calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses".
Mythology
Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
on top of the façade
Strasbourg-Oper-Halle.jpg, Seats
Strasbourg plaque mémorielle du massacre des juifs de 1349.jpg, Plaque on the northern side commemorating the Strasbourg massacre
The Strasbourg massacre occurred on 14 February 1349, when the entire Jewish community of several thousand Jews were publicly burnt to death as part of the Black Death persecutions.
Starting in the spring of 1348, pogroms against Jews had occ ...
of Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
in 1349
See also
*
Palais des Fêtes
Literature
*Recht, Roland; Foessel, Georges; Klein, Jean-Pierre: ''Connaître Strasbourg'', 1988, , page 228
References
External links
*
''Opéra National du Rhin - 19 place Broglie''on archi-wiki.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strasbourg Opera House
19th-century architecture
Monuments historiques of Strasbourg
Music venues completed in 1821
Music venues completed in 1888
Neoclassical architecture in France
Opera houses in France