Graz Opernhaus Zuschauerraum Blick zur Bühne

The Graz Opera (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: Oper Graz) is an Austrian

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

and opera company based in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

. The orchestra of the opera house also performs concerts as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (''Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester'').

History

Opera had been performed in Graz since the 17th century, originally in a converted coach house on the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

royal estates. The National Theatre (Schauspielhaus Graz), constructed in 1776, saw many early performances of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's operas, although today (after many reconstructions) it is devoted to the performances of plays. The city's first dedicated opera house and the immediate predecessor of the Graz Opera was the Thalia Theatre, adapted in 1864 from an old circus hall. Plans for a new theatre suitable to the growing size and importance of the city and intended to be a "new home for German art" were first proposed in 1887. Designed by

Ferdinand Fellner Ferdinand Fellner (19 April 1847 – 22 March 1916) was an Austrian architect. Biography Fellner joined his ailing father's architecture firm at the age of nineteen. After his death he founded the architecture studio Fellner & Helmer together w ...

and Herman Helmer in the neo-baroque style, the Graz Opera was inaugurated in 1899 with a performance of Schiller's play '' William Tell'', followed a few days later by Wagner's opera '' Lohengrin''. The building suffered damage during World War II bombings but was repaired and re-opened after the war. Between 1983 and 1985, it underwent a $15 million renovation which saw the installation of modern equipment and facilities without significantly changing the original exterior and interior of the building. The current ''Intendantin'' of the company is Nora Schmid, since 1 January 2015, in succession to

Elisabeth Sobotka Elisabeth Sobotka (born 7 October 1965) is an Austrian woman opera director and since January 2015, director of the Bregenzer Festspiele. Life Born in Vienna, Sobotka studied musicology at the University of Vienna and graduated in 1990 with a t ...

. Schmid is scheduled to stand down as ''Intendantin'' after the 2022-2023 season. Past general music directors (GMD) of the company have included Niksa Bareza (1981-1990),

Philippe Jordan Philippe Jordan (born 18 October 1974) is a Swiss conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Zürich, the son of conductor Armin Jordan, he began to study piano at the age of six. At age eight, he joined the Zürcher Sängerknaben. He has ackno ...

(2001-2004),

Johannes Fritzsch Johannes Fritzsch (born Meissen, Germany, 1960) is a German conductor. Biography Fritzsch's father, a cantor and organist, was his first music teacher, in piano and organ. His brother Georg Fritzsch (born 1963) is also a conductor. His other br ...

(2006-2013), and

Dirk Kaftan Dirk Kaftan (born 1971) is a German opera and concert conductor. Career Born in Marburg, West Germany, Kaftan grew up in Wittlich and Canada. At the age of 18 he began employment as a repetiteur at the Theater Trier. Kaftan then studied soun ...

(2013-2017). In the autumn of 2016,

Oksana Lyniv Oksana Lyniv ( uk, Оксана Линів; born 6 January 1978) is a Ukrainian conductor. Biography Born in Brody (then in the Ukrainian SSR), Lyniv is the daughter of two musicians and the granddaughter of a choral conductor. Her father is a ...

made her first guest-conducting appearance with the company, in a production of ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on '' La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his ow ...

''. In February 2017, the company announced the appointment of Lyniv as its next GMD, effective with the 2017-2018 season. Lyniv is the first female conductor to be named GMD of Graz Opera. She concluded her tenure in Graz at the end of the 2019-2020 season. In December 2018, the company announced the appointment of

Roland Kluttig Roland Kluttig (born 1968 in Radeberg) is a German conductor. Biography From 1986 to 1991 he studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden. He attended master classes with Sylvain Cambreling, Peter Eötvös ...

as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2020-2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

General Music Directors (GMD; partial list)

Herbert Albert Herbert Albert (26 December 1903, Bad Lausick – 15 September 1973) was a German conductor. Albert was born in Lausick and died in Bad Reichenhall. After studying with Karl Muck as a pianist he later held a succession of music director ...

(1950–1952) *

Berislav Klobučar Berislav Klobučar (28 August 192413 June 2014) was a Croatian opera conductor. He conducted the Vienna State Opera for more than four decades, and guest conductor at the Bayreuth Festival. __TOC__ Biography Born in Zagreb on 28 August 1924, Klo ...

(1960–1971) * Nikša Bareza (1981–1990) *

Mario Venzago Mario Venzago (born 1948) is a Swiss conductor. Biography Venzago began piano studies at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. His other positions ...

(1991–1994) * Giancarlo Andretta (1994–1997) *

(2001–2004) *

(2006–2013) *

(2013–2017) *

(2017–2020) *

(2020–present)

References

Sources

*Stråth, Bo (1999)
''The Postmodern Challenge''
Rodopi.

External links

*
Official website of Oper Graz
{{Theatre in Austria Opera houses in Austria Fellner & Helmer buildings Music venues completed in 1899 Buildings and structures in Graz Tourist attractions in Graz Theatres completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Austria-Hungary