Theater Basel is the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

of the city of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, which is home to the city's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

companies. The theatre also presents

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s in addition to operas and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s. Because the theatre does not have its own

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, the

Basel Symphony Orchestra The Sinfonieorchester Basel (Symphony Orchestra Basel; Swiss abbreviation SOB) is a symphony orchestra based in Basel, Switzerland. Its principal concert venue is the ''Musiksaal'' of the Stadtcasino. In addition, the orchestra accompanies ballet ...

is usually contracted to perform for opera and ballet productions as needed. For baroque-opera productions,

La Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek language, Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing i ...

, the

baroque orchestra A Baroque orchestra is an ensemble for mixed instruments that existed during the Baroque era of Western Classical music, commonly identified as 1600–1750. Baroque orchestras are typically much smaller, in terms of the number of performers, than t ...

of the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that have ...

, is engaged.

History

Theater Basel was founded in 1834 under the name Basler Stadttheater. The first theatre was designed by Swiss

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Melchior Berri Melchior Berri (born 20 October 1801 in Basel, died 12 May 1854 in Basel) was a well-known Swiss architect. He was the son of Melchior Berri (parish priest in Münchenstein) and Appollonia Streckeisen. In 1832 he married Margaretha Simone Burckha ...

. In 1873 work on a new theatre began which was designed by Johann Jakob Stehlin Jr.. This second theatre opened in 1875 and was used until it was destroyed by fire on 7 October 1904. Plans for a third theatre were soon made, but it was five years before the theatre finally opened in 1909. The fourth theatre opened in 1975. In October 2018, the company announced the appointment of

Kristiina Poska Kristiina Poska (born 12 July 1978, Türi, Estonia) is an Estonian conductor. Biography At age eight, Poska began piano lessons. She graduated from Türi Music School in piano studies in 1994, and then studied choral conducting at the Georg Ot ...

as its next General Music Director (GMD; ''Generalmusikdirektorin''), effective with the 2019–2020 season.

Intendants

* Leo Melitz (1899–1919) * Ernst Lert (1919–1920) * Otto Henning (1921–1925) * Oskar Wälterlin (1925–1932) * Egon Neudegg (1932–1949) * Gottfried Becker, Kurt Horowitz, Hans Thudium (1949–1950; joint directors) * Friedrich Schramm (1950–1953) * Albert Wiesner (1953–1954) * Hermann Wedekind (1954–1960) *

Werner Düggelin Werner Düggelin (7 December 1929 – 6 August 2020) was a Swiss theatre director.Werner Düggelin
on VIAF ...

(1968–1975) * Hans Hollmann (1975–1978) * Horst Statkus (1978–1988) * Frank Baumbauer (1988–1993) * Wolfgang Zörner (1993–1994) * Hans Peter Doll (1994–1996) * Michael Schindhelm (1996–2006) * Georges Delnon (2006–2015) * Andreas Beck (2015–present)

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

Concert halls in Switzerland Opera houses in Switzerland Theatre Basel Theatres completed in 1834 Theatres completed in 1875 Theatres completed in 1909 Theatres completed in 1975 Culture in Basel Theatre Basel

History

Intendants

References

Further reading

External links