The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival, IMF) is a theater festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

, the festival is one of the most distinguished international theatre and music festivals in the world. It is presented annually in May at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the State Theatre of Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden. The festival currently features performances of operas, ballets, plays 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. Visiting companies, mostly from European theaters, present their recent productions along with performances of the Theater Wiesbaden. Concerts from a wide array of music genres are featured as well as artistic circus acts and modern dance presentations. Lectures, recitals, cabaret performances, art showings and readings are also part of the program.

Kaiserfestspiele

In 1896, the festival was established as "Kaiserfestspiele" (Imperial Festival) by Georg von Hülsen, director of the theater in Wiesbaden. He wanted to create a festival to compare with the successful

. A festival in Spring was supposed to coincide with the emperor's regular stay at the

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

to create a cultural event. The director also wanted to improve the status of his "Neues königliches Hoftheater" (New Royal Court Theatre), which relied mostly on productions from the Royal theater in Berlin. The first festival was presented from 6 to 19 May 1896, with the German emperor William I and the empress Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in attendance. The posters and programs showed "Festspiele auf allerhöchsten Befehl!" (Festival by the very highest order!), referring to the emperor's demand. In the beginning the focus was on the works of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

as in Bayreuth, but different from Bayreuth works of other composers were also performed, such as Carl Maria von Weber's '' Oberon'' in 1900. The festival closed for the duration of World War I.

Mai-Festwoche

In 1928, the first festival after the war was staged by the director

Paul Bekker Max Paul Eugen Bekker (11 September 1882 – 7 March 1937) was a German music critic and author. Described as having "brilliant style and ..extensive theoretical and practical knowledge," Bekker was chief music critic for both the ''Frankfurt ...

and called "Mai-Festwoche" (Festival week in May). It presented on 6 May the premiere of three short operas by Ernst Krenek, ''

Der Diktator ''Der Diktator'' (''The Dictator'') is a tragic opera in one act with words and music by Ernst Krenek, his Op. 49 and the first of three one-acters (with ''Das geheime Königreich'' and '' Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation'') which premiere ...

'', ''

Das geheime Königreich ''Das geheime Königreich'' (''The Secret Kingdom'') is an opera in one act with words and music by Ernst Krenek, his Op. 50 and the second of three one-acters (with '' Der Diktator'' and '' Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation'') which premie ...

'' and '' Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation''. In 1929, the festival was called "Festwochen im Mai" (Festive Weeks in May). His main concern was to stress the achievement of the Wiesbaden theatre. From 4 to 21 May 1929, the festival presented the opera '' Die ägyptische Helena'' of Richard Strauss, which had premiered the year before at the Semperoper. Under Nazism, the festival was held until 1939 as part of the ''Gaukulturwochen''. The director was Carl von Schirach.

Internationale Maifestspiele

In 1950, the first festival after World War II was the first with an international approach, reflected in the new name. The festival was held annually since then. Traditionally the festival was opened by a new production of the Wiesbaden theatre. Starting in 1962, director

Claus Helmut Drese Claus Helmut Drese (25 December 1922, in Aachen – 10 February 2011, in Horgen, Switzerland) was a German opera and theatre administrator, and author. Early career Drese began his career as a dramaturg at the ''Marburger Schauspielhaus'' in 1 ...

encouraged presentations from Eastern European companies under the Motto "Fenster nach Osten" (window to the East). Guest productions of operas and ballets from Warsaw, Leningrad, Sofia, Bucharest, Moscow and the great theatres of former East Germany took place at the festival.

Claus Leininger Claus Leininger (17 January 1931 – 22 February 2005) was a German stage director in theatre and opera, and an intendant (general manager). He shaped the artistic profile of the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, nicknamed the Ruhr- Scala du ...

, director from 1986 to 1994, invited companies from Northern Europe, Spain and North America. In 1989, when Germany was still divided, the Berlin companies Deutsche Oper Berlin from West Berlin and Komische Oper Berlin from

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

both showed their productions. Visiting ensembles from Eastern Europe increased even more after the opening of the

Iron curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

. Plays have been performed by the Berliner Ensemble, the Schaubühne, Deutsches Theater and the

Münchner Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstraße (Munich), Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three ...

, among others. Ballet companies have included

Cloud Gate Dance Theater Cloud Gate Dance Theater () is a modern dance group based in Taiwan. It was founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-min in 1973, and later he shared its management with his late protégé, choreographer Lo Man-fei. The troupe was inactive from October 1 ...

from Taiwan, the Tanztheater Pina Bausch, Wuppertal, the

Cullberg Ballet Cullberg Ballet ( sv, Cullbergbaletten) is a Swedish contemporary dance company. It was founded by the modern dancer and pioneer choreographer Birgit Cullberg in 1967, who brought it to fame. After Cullberg's retirement in 1985 the company was un ...

from Sweden,

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (The Monte Carlo Ballet) is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco. I ...

and the Nederlands Dans Theater. Young audiences have been addressed by the series of plays "Junge Woche" (Young Week). Due to restricted funding in recent years the program was reduced, shifting to younger and more experimental performers.

Performances

In 1955. the stage version of Hans Vogt's so-called Oratorische Oper (oratorio opera) ''Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'' after the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Hermann Kasack Hermann Robert Richard Eugen Kasack (24 July 1896 – 10 January 1966) was a German writer. He is best known for his novel '' Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'' (''The city beyond the river''). Kasack was a pioneer of using the medium broadcast for lit ...

was premiered. In 1962, the Opera Warsaw presented as the first visiting company from Eastern Europe the opera ''

The Haunted Manor ''The Haunted Manor'' ( pl, Straszny dwór) is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by . Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones ...

'' of Stanisław Moniuszko. Works of the 20th century have included

Strawinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's '' Le sacre du printemps'' and ''

Oedipus rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' and Arthur Honegger's ''Judith''. At the 1989 festival, the Deutsche Oper Berlin visited with three productions, the opening night was Verdi's '' Rigoletto'', staged by

Hans Neuenfels Hans Neuenfels (; 31 May 1941 – 6 February 2022) was a German writer, poet, film producer, librettist, theatre director, opera director and theatre manager. As a director, he first focused on drama, staged at prominent houses such as the Vien ...

and conducted by

Silvio Varviso Silvio Varviso (26 February 1924 – 1 November 2006) was a Swiss conductor who spent most of his career devoted to conducting opera. He began his conducting career working in minor opera houses in Switzerland in the mid-1940s. He became the p ...

, followed by Janáček's ''

Katja Kabanowa Katja is a feminine given name. In Germany, the Netherlands, Flanders, and Scandinavia, it is a pet form of Katherine. Katja may refer to: Music * Katja Andy (1906–2013), German-American pianist *Katja Ebstein (born 1945), German singer *Katj ...

'' and the ballet ''Der Blaue Engel''. Hartmut Haenchen conducted Handel's opera '' Giustino'' in a production of the Komische Oper Berlin staged by

Harry Kupfer Harry Alfred Robert Kupfer (12 August 1935 – 30 December 2019) was a German opera director and academic. A long-time director at the Komische Oper Berlin, he worked at major opera houses and at festivals internationally. Trained by Walter Felse ...

, with Jochen Kowalski in the title role. The

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

presented Borodin's '' Prince Igor'' and Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, both conducted by

Alexander Lazarev Alexander Nikolayevich Lazarev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Ла́зарев; born 5 July 1945, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conse ...

. In 2008, the

Teatro Regio Torino The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several bu ...

visited with Verdi's ''Rigoletto''. In 2009, Theater Wiesbaden opened with

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

, Verdi's '' Nabucco'' was performed by the

Teatro Regio di Parma Teatro Regio di Parma, originally constructed as the Nuovo Teatro Ducale (New Ducal Theatre),Martini, "Before the Teatro Regio", pp. 56 is an opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. Replacing an obsolete house, the new Ducale achieved pro ...

. The opening performance in 2010 was Alban Berg's '' Lulu'', on the program for the opening of the 2011 festival on 30 April 2011 was the premiere of Ernst August Klötzke's opera ''Beatrice'' and the first performance in German of

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State ...

's literary opera ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...

'', based on Nabokov's

, produced by the Theater Wiesbaden with Emma Pearson in the title role, in the presence of the composer.Volker Milch
Oper ''Lolita'' – Deutschlandpremiere bei den 115. Maifestspielen in Wiesbaden
, '' Wiesbadener Tagblatt'', 1 May 2011 On the 2011 festival program are performances of the farewell tour of the

Merce Cunningham Dance Company Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

Facts

The Maifestspiele 2010 had 20,700 visitors, 90.4% of the available seating capacity was sold. The budget for 2011 comprises €1,432,200.

References

External links

* * Volker Milch
"Kulturelles Kraftzentrum"
(German) '' Wiesbadener Tagblatt'' 24 April {{Authority control Music festivals in Germany Opera festivals Festivals established in 1896 Theatre festivals in Germany Culture in Wiesbaden Tourist attractions in Wiesbaden 1896 establishments in Germany