The Cologne Opera (
German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main
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
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany and its resident opera company.
History of the company
From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the city's court theatres by travelling Italian opera companies. The first permanent company in the city was established in 1822, and performed primarily in the Theater an der Schmierstraße (built in 1783 as a private theatre and also used for plays and concerts). The opera company later performed in Theater in der Glockengasse (built in 1872) and in the Theater am Habsburger Ring (built in 1902). The Theater am Habsburger Ring was constructed by the city of Cologne and became its first theatre to be specifically designed as an opera house.
The opera house
The current opera house was designed by the German architect,
Wilhelm Riphahn. It was inaugurated on 8 May 1957 in the presence of
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
, then the
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
and a former mayor of Cologne. The first opera to be performed there was
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
's ''
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...
''. In June of that year the house saw its first world premiere, Wolfgang Fortner's ''Die Bluthochzeit''. The following month the opera company of
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
appeared there on tour with
Maria Callas
Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...
in ''
La sonnambula''.
The Cologne Opera House occasionally hosts solo recitals and special events; one remarkable such event was concert by jazz pianist
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...
in 1975 which was recorded and became one of the most popular solo jazz piano recordings of all time, known as
The Köln Concert
''The Concert'' (TKC) is a live solo double album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Cologne Opera#The opera house, Opera House in Cologne, Köln, West Germany, on 24 January 1975 and released on ECM Records later that year. It is the bes ...
.
The house has a seating capacity of 1,300 and an orchestra pit which can accommodate 100 musicians. It is part of an arts complex on Offenbachplatz which includes the Schauspiel Köln (Cologne Playhouse), also designed by Wilhelm Riphahn and built in 1962. At the end of the 2009/2010 season, both theatres closed for extensive refurbishment and redevelopment. Initially the opera house was due to reopen in November 2015, however problems in renovating the Cologne Opera meant that opera productions have been produced in alternative venues since then. Performance venues have included a converted factory ("Palladium"), a large tent on the Rhein ("Musical-Dom"), a turn-of-the-century courthouse ("Amtsgericht"), and an old exhibition hall ("Staatenhaus"). The re-opening date of the Opera House on Offenbachplatz—whose renovation is far behind schedule and way over budget, and is now projected to be autumn 2024.
In 1904 the company came under the management of the city and took the name Oper der Stadt Köln, performing exclusively at the Theater am Habsburger Ring from 1906 until
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 ...
, when it was badly damaged by
allied bombs. Immediately after the war, the company performed first at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
and then in the repaired Glockengasse and Habsburger Ring theatres. Both theatres were eventually torn down, and the company moved into its current opera house which was completed in 1957. The modernist design of the new opera house reflected the repertoire that was to characterise the post-war company which has premiered many new operas (normally one per season) and produced controversial stagings of older works. The company performs approximately 25 different operas on the main stage during its regular season which runs from September to June. It has also performed at the
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
and the Vienna Festival during the summer months.
The Cologne Opera has seen many stagings of Wagner's "Ring der Nibelungen"-Cycle, but one stands out: a furious and effective staging by
Robert Carsen which was universally acclaimed.
Markus Stenz pulled off the extraordinary feat of conducting the entire "Ring" in just two days in 2006. Stenz took the entire production to Shanghai, China, in 2010.
Cologne/Stenz: Wagner’s Ring in Shanghai
fleetingspectator.wordpress.com
Children's opera
The children's opera is part of the Cologne Opera House and was founded in 1996 as the first children's opera in Europe. From 1996 to 2008, the so-called Yakult Hall in the foyer of the opera house served as its home. From 2009 to 2015, the Altes Pfandhaus in Cologne's Südstadt served as the venue. Due to the renovation of the Opera House, the Cologne Children's Opera is currently in its interim venue in the StaatenHaus am Rheinpark in Cologne-Deutz. After completion of the renovation work at Offenbachplatz, the children's opera will have its own venue there. Musical director of the children's opera is Rainer Mühlbach, director of the children's opera is Brigitta Gillessen, and patron is Ralph Caspers. The spectrum of productions ranges from fairy-tale operas to baroque operas, works of the classical and romantic periods to contemporary pieces and world premieres. Depending on the play and production, performances can be attended by pre-school children, primary school children, secondary school classes, and families but also by senior citizens. For children from the age of 3, there are mobile opera productions that are performed in kindergartens and daycare centres. The Cologne children's opera is the first opera to stage Wagner's complete »Der Ring des Nibelungen« for children within one season (2021.22). Starting in September 2021, an artistically designed "children's opera" light rail of the Cologne Transport Authority (KVB) will run on five inner-city lines for two years to mark the 25th anniversary.
World premieres
World premieres staged by the company include:
* Erich Korngold's '' Die tote Stadt'' (4 December 1920)
* Alexander Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conducting, conductor, and teacher.
Biography
Early life
Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfat ...
's '' Der Zwerg'' (28 May 1922)
* Franz Schreker's '' Irrelohe'' (27 March 1924)
* Siegfried Wagner
Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930.
Life
Siegfried Wagner ...
's ''Der Heidenkönig'' (16 December 1933)
* Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, academic composition teacher and conductor.
Life and career
Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense ...
's '' Bluthochzeit'' (8 June 1957)
* Nicolas Nabokov's ''Der Tod des Grigorij Rasputin'' (''Rasputin's End'') (27 November 1959)
* Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. Hi ...
's ''Die Soldaten
' (''The Soldiers'') is a four-act opera in German by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, based on the 1776 play by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. In a letter accompanying his newly printed play (23 July 1776, aged 24) that he sent to his best friend, the ...
'' (15 February 1965)
* Manfred Trojahn's ''Limonen aus Sizilien'' (22 March 2003)
* Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
's '' Sonntag aus Licht'' (9 and 10 April 2011)
Music directors
The company's Music director
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 ...
s from 1904, when it officially became the Oper der Stadt Köln, have been:
* Otto Lohse (1904–1911)
* Gustav Brecher (1911–1916)
* Otto Klemperer (1917–1924)
* Eugen Szenkar (1924–1933)
* Fritz Zaun (1929–1939)
* Günter Wand (1945–1948)
* Richard Kraus (1948–1955)
* Otto Ackermann (1955–1958)
* Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist.
Biography
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...
(1960–1963)
* Siegfried Köhler (1964)
* István Kertész (1964–1973)
* John Pritchard (1973–1988)
* James Conlon
James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra.
Early years
Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...
(1991–2004)
* Markus Stenz (2004–2014)
* François-Xavier Roth
François-Xavier Paul Roth (born 6 November 1971) is a French conductor.
Biography
Roth is the son of the organist Daniel Roth—the two share the same first name. His brother Vincent is a violist. Before turning to conducting, he was a flauti ...
(2014– 2024)
References
Notes
Sources
*Abramsohn, Jennifer
"Viewers wait for curtain to rise on scandal-plagued Cologne opera"
''Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
'', 6 May 2009
*Bucciarelli, Melania, Dubowy, Norbert and Strohm, Reinhard
''Italian opera in Central Europe''
Volume 1, BWV Verlag, 2006.
*Fabian, Imre, "Cologne", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (Ed. Stanley Sadie), London: MacMillan, 1998
*Marco, Guy A.
''Opera: A research and information guide''
Routledge, 2001.
External links
*
*
Oper Köln / Cologne Opera
{{Authority control
Opera houses in Germany
German opera companies
Music venues completed in 1957
Buildings and structures in Cologne
Music in Cologne
Theatres completed in 1957
Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne