The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

s and

operetta 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 oper ...

s in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany, located at 10–12 in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and dedicated to

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 ...

and

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...

made his debut in Berlin here, and the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

appeared with

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

. In the 1930s it was run as the Volkstheater Berlin. After World War II it served as the temporary opera house of Berlin, the Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera). In 1961 it became the first theatre in Germany to show musicals. Since then it has become the "German equivalent of Broadway extravaganzas", putting on plays and musical comedies.

History

The theatre was founded in 1895. The construction of the present building began in 1896, designed by Bernhard Sehring. It was opened on 1 October 1896 with a fairy tale,

Holger Drachmann Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen Painters, Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movem ...

's ''Tausendundeine Nacht''. From 1898 the house was used for

, from 1908 for

's first appearance in Berlin was in 1905 in Theater des Westens. In 1910,

Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario a ...

performed '' Carnaval'' on

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

's music in a choreography by

Mikhail Fokine Michael Fokine ( – 22 August 1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet Sch ...

appeared with the Ballets Russes in 1914. From 1922, the house was again used as an opera house, called "Große Volksoper" (Great People's Opera), under the direction of conductor

Leo Blech Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Opernhaus (later the Berlin State Opera / Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and late ...

. Short lived, the opera house closed in 1924. The theatre then showed a mixed program, under frequently changing management. The dancer

Mary Wigman Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and choreographer who pioneered expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. She is considered on ...

and her company were a great success in 1926. Hans Lüppschütz took over, presenting traditional works including ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

'' and '' Alt Heidelberg'' along with new productions. He engaged prominent actors, such as

Fritzi Massary Fritzi Massary (31 March 1882 – 30 January 1969) was an Austrian-American soprano singer and actress. Early life and career Fritzi Massary was born Friederike Massaryk in Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 31 March 1882. She was one o ...

in ''Eine Frau von Format'' (1927) by ,

Max Adalbert Max Adalbert (born Johannes Adolph Krampf; 19 February 1874 – 7 September 1933) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Adalbert was born in Danzig (Gdansk), Imperial Germany as ''Maximilian Adalbert Krampf'' to a Prussian Officer. Usi ...

in ''Das Ekel'' (1928) and

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

in ''Bitte Einsteigen'' (1928). From 1921, the cabaret theatre in the basement was directed by

Trude Hesterberg Trude Hesterberg (2 May 1892 – 31 August 1967) was a German film actress. She appeared in 89 films between 1917 and 1964. Selected filmography * ''Ein Schwerenöter'' (1916) – Liddy * ''Die Eheschule'' (1917) * ''Die Reise ins Jenseits ...

. It was closed in 1928, but reopened in 1931 by

Friedrich Hollaender Friedrich Hollaender (in exile also Frederick Hollander; 18 October 189618 January 1976) was a German film composer and author. Life and career He was born in London to a Jewish family, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaend ...

as . Performers included

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

Curt Bois Curt Bois (born Kurt Boas; April 5, 1901 – December 25, 1991) was a German actor with a career spanning over 80 years. He is best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca'' (1942) and the poet Homer ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Erich Mühsam Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German Antimilitarism, antimilitarist anarchism, anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a Federalism, federated Bavari ...

and

Theo Lingen Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960. Life and c ...

. The theatre was reopened on 23 December 1934 as the with

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

's ''

Der Waffenschmied ''Der Waffenschmied'' (The Armourer) is an 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 t ...

''. It presented as part of "" (light entertainment), directed by Karl Jöken and his wife Edith Schollwer. Examples include performances such as , , and . It had to be closed after an air raid in 1944.

Städtische Oper

After World War II the building served as Berlin's opera house called , because the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

had been destroyed in 1943. On 4 September 1945 it was opened by a performance of Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

''. The General Manager was Michael Bohnen, succeeded by Heinz Tietjen.

Ferenc Fricsay Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen. Biography Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ern ...

was the Musical Director from 1948 to 1952, singers included

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

Elisabeth Grümmer Elisabeth Grümmer (née Schilz; 31 March 1911 – 6 November 1986) was a German soprano. She has been described as "a singer blessed with elegant musicality, warm-hearted sincerity, and a voice of exceptional beauty". Life Elisabeth Schilz was b ...

Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with ...

and

Ernst Haefliger Ernst Haefliger (6 July 191917 March 2007) was a Swiss tenor. Biography Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland, on 6 July 1919 and studied at the Wettinger Seminary and the Zürich Conservatory. Later he became a pupil of Fernando Carpi in ...

. Operas by

Werner Egk Werner Egk (, 17 May 1901 – 10 July 1983), born Werner Joseph Mayer, was a German composer. Early career He was born in the Swabian town of Auchsesheim, today part of Donauwörth, Germany. His family, of Catholic peasant stock, moved to Augsb ...

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

and

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

were premiered during this time, including

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

's on 23 September 1956.

Musical

When the opera was moved to a new building in 1961, the Theater des Westens specialised in operettas and the new musical. The opening and first musical production was Loewe's ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' on 1 October 1961, This first performance of the work in German was conducted by

Franz Allers Franz Allers (August 6, 1905 - January 26, 1995) was an Austrian and American conductor of ballet, opera, Broadway musicals, film scores, and symphony orchestras. Early life Franz Allers was born in Carlsbad, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) ...

who had already conducted the world premiere, the leading roles were performed by

Karin Hübner Karin Hübner (; 16 September 1936 – 25 July 2006) was a German stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1955 to 1977. Her name is sometimes given as Karin Huebner. Hübner was born in Gera in Thuringia a ...

and

Paul Hubschmid Paul Hubschmid (; 20 July 1917 – 1 January 2002) was a Switzerland, Swiss actor. He was most notable for his role as Pygmalion (play), Henry Higgins in the German stage production of ''My Fair Lady''. In his Hollywood films he was billed as Pa ...

. In 1978, the stage technology was improved. In 1981, a restoration of the interior was begun according to the architectural plans of Bernhard Sehring, the facade was restored in 1988. From 1984,

Götz Friedrich Götz Friedrich (4 August 1930 in Naumburg, Germany – 12 December 2000 in Berlin, Germany) was a German opera and theatre director. He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in (East) Berlin, where he w ...

was

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 ...

and Helmut Baumann artistic director. They concentrated on musicals and were successful with ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' and '' La Cage aux Folles''. In 1988 Friedrich staged ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' with an "all black-opera". In a united Germany, the theatre faced strong competition and had difficulties in staging an attractive program. On 24 September 2002, the Senate of Berlin agreed to sell the theatre to

Stage Entertainment Stage Entertainment is an international operating live entertainment company, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. The company was founded in 1998 by Joop van den Ende in Amsterdam. History The Netherlands / Corporate The root of the company l ...

, while the ownership of the building itself remained in the city. Renovations which began in January 2003 were estimated to have cost 10 million Euros. On 26 September 2003 the theatre opened again with ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''. Stage Entertainment has no ensemble but presents productions of German and international companies.

Premieres

Leon Jessel Leon Jessel, or Léon Jessel (22 January 1871 – 4 January 1942), was a German composer of operettas and light classical music pieces. Today he is best known internationally as the composer of the popular jaunty march '' The Parade of the Tin Sol ...

: ''Die beiden Husaren'' (1913) * Jean Gilbert: ''Die Frau im Hermelin'' (1919) * Leon Jessel: ''Schwalbenhochzeit'' (1921) * Eduard Künneke: ''Die lockende Flamme'' (1933) *

Walter Goetze Walter Wilhelm Goetze ometimes ''Götze''(17 April 1883 in Berlin – 24 March 1961 in Berlin) was a German composer of operettas and revues. Goetze began as composer of songs; the first of his many works for the stage was the revue ''Nur nicht d ...

: ''

Der goldene Pierrot (') is a German-language operetta in eight scenes by Walter Goetze to a libretto by Oskar Felix and Otto Kleinert. It premiered on 31 March 1934 at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. Roles Synopsis ''Time and place: A large city by the Rhine ...

'' (1934) *

: ''Circe'' (1948) *

: ''Ein preußisches Märchen'' (1952) *

: ''Der rote Mantel'' (1954) * Max Baumann: ''Pelleas und Melisande'' (1954) *

: '' König Hirsch'' (1956) *

Oskar Sala Oskar Sala (18 July 1910 – 26 February 2002) was a German composer and a pioneer of electronic music. He played an instrument called the Trautonium, an early form of electronic synthesizer. Early life Sala was born in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany. ...

: ''Paean'' (1960) * Boris Blacher: ''Rosamunde Floris'' (1960) *

Rio Reiser Ralph Christian Möbius (9 January 1950 – 20 August 1996), known professionally as Rio Reiser, was a German musician and from 1970 to 1985 the lead singer and main lyric-writer for the rock group Ton Steine Scherben. After that band broke up, ...

: ''Robinson 2000'' (1967) * James M. Barrie: ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (1984) * : ''Eins, zwei, drei'' (1989) * Jürg Burth / Ulf Dietrich: ''Blue Jeans'' (1994) * : ''30–60–90° durchgehend geöffnet '' (1999) *

Burkhard Driest Burkhard Driest (; 28 April 1939 – 27 February 2020) was a German actor, writer and director, known for his acting work in Sam Peckinpah's ''Cross of Iron'' and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ''Querelle''. He also wrote novels and screenplays. L ...

: ' (2000) *

Konstantin Wecker Konstantin Alexander Wecker (born 1 June 1947) is a German ''Liedermacher'' (singer-songwriter) who also works as a composer, author and actor. Life and work Wecker was born in Munich. Classically educated at the Wilhelmsgymnasium, Wecker got o ...

: ''Schwejk it easy!'' (2001) * Rob Bolland und Ferdi Bolland: ''

3 Musketiers ''3 Musketiers'' is a Dutch musical, also known as ''3 Musketiere'' (German), ''3 Musketeers'' (English) and ''A 3 Testőr'' (Hungarian) written by Ferdi Bolland and Rob Bolland. The story is based on Alexandre Dumas, père's 1844 novel ''The Th ...

'' (2005) * / : ' (2008)

Literature

*, Dissertation by Detlef Meyer zu Heringsdorf, published by Deutsche Oper Berlin 1988, *, published by the Genossenschaft Deutscher Bühnenangehöriger Verlag: Bühnenschriften-Vetriebs-Gesellschaft

References

External links

Theater des Westens
Berlin
History of the Opera House

Götz Friedrich ist tot: Ewig hoffend, ewig liebend
''

Der Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunificati ...

'', 13 December 2000
Intendant geschasst – Spielbetrieb gesichert
''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

'', 21 August 2001
Official siteProjektindex Theater des Westens
Architekturmuseum

TU Berlin Tu or TU may refer to: Language * Tu language * Tu (cuneiform), a cuneiform sign * ''tu'' or ''tú'' the 2nd-person singular subject pronoun in many languages; see personal pronoun * T–V distinction (from the Latin pronouns ''tu'' and ''vos'') ...

Denkmale in Berlin / Theater des Westens und Delphi-Palast
List of Monuments in Berlin
Josephine Baker in Berlin
cabaret-berlin.com
Theater des Westens
visitberlin.de {{Authority control Theatres in Berlin 1895 establishments in Germany Music venues completed in 1896