The Staatstheater Meiningen (State Theatre Meiningen), also called the Meiningen Theatre, is a four-division theater in the Thuringian town of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The theater was founded in 1831 and was called ″Meininger Hoftheater″ (Meiningen Court Theatre) until 1920. The theatre offers music theatre (opera, operetta, musicals), drama, concerts and puppet theatre. The programme is further enhanced by the inclusion of ballet performances produced and performed by Landestheater Eisenach. The orchestra affiliated with the theatre is the Meininger Hofkapelle (

Meiningen Court Orchestra The Meiningen Court Orchestra (german: Meininger Hofkapelle) is one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in Europe. Since 1952 the now 68-member orchestra has been affiliated to the Meiningen Court Theatre and in addition to their opera ...

). Until 2017, the theatre operated as "Südthüringisches Staatstheater" (South Thuringian State Theatre) before changing its name to "Meininger Staatstheater" (Meiningen State Theatre) and 2021 to ″Staatstheater Meiningen″ (State Theatre Meiningen). It is jointly funded by the state, city and county of Schmalkalden-Meiningen under the umbrella of the Cultural Foundation Meiningen-Eisenach, Thuringia. Meiningen is the birthplace of the modern director's theatre which was famously promoted by the theatre's acting ensemble - dubbed as "Die Meininger" – under the direction of Duke

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

during guest appearances throughout Europe in the years 1874 to 1890. They also say: ''no Hollywood without Meiningen''. Between 1880 and 1914, the Meininger Hofkapelle was conducted by Hans von Bülow,

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, Wilhelm Berger and

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

and as a guest by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

. To this day, this tradition, its history and further successes has secured the Meininger Theater a special place in the theatre world. The theater is so important for the city that Meiningen is also called a "Theaterstadt" (theater city).

References

External links

State Theatre Meiningen
website {{Authority control Culture in Meiningen Theatres in Germany