Oper Frankfurt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. Opera in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''
Der ferne Klang ''Der ferne Klang'' (''The Distant Sound'') is an opera by Franz Schreker, set to his own libretto. Begun in 1903, it was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 18 August 1912. It was the composer's breakthrough to fame, and was frequently pe ...
'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frederick Delius in 1919, and Carl Orff's ''
Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...
'' in 1937. Frankfurt's international recognition began in the Gielen Era, 1977 to 1987, when
Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...
and stage directors such as
Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca the ...
collaborated. A historic opera house from 1880 was destroyed in World War II, and reconstructed as a concert hall, the
Alte Oper Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a concert hall in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district Bankenviertel. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's opera house, which was destr ...
. The present opera house, built in 1963, is under one roof with the stage for drama. The opera orchestra is called
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester The Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester ''(Frankfurt Opera House and Museum's Orchestra)'' is the resident orchestra of the Oper Frankfurt. Its somewhat peculiar name is derived from the series of "Museum Concerts", organized by the Frankfurte ...
. Today's venue for Baroque and contemporary opera is the Bockenheimer Depot, a former tram depot. Voted best 'Opera house of the year' by ''Opernwelt'' several times since 1996, including 2020, Oper Frankfurt is part of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt.


History

Frankfurt's first opera was Johann Theile's ''Adam und Eva'', performed in 1698 by Johann Velten's touring company. The young
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
's first operas in his home town of Frankfurt were productions by Theobald Marchand's company.


1782 – 1880

Opened in 1782, the ''Comoedienhaus'' was the first permanent venue of the Frankfurt Theater (drama and opera). In 1878 German violinist Willy Hess took up the leadership of the Oper Frankfurt. He resigned from that post in 1886 to take up a professorship in the Rotterdam Conservatorium voor Muziek.


1880 – 1944

The first representative opera house of the city was inaugurated in Frankfurt in 1880 at
Opernplatz The Opernplatz (Opera Square) is a central city square in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the district of Innenstadt (Inner City) and within the central business district known as the Bankenviertel (Banking District). The Opernplatz is the most ...
. Under the direction of the first Intendant and the first Kapellmeister Felix Otto Dessoff, the house was opened with Mozart's opera ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
''. During the 1920s, the opera in Frankfurt had more prominent Jewish singers than any other company in Germany, including the tenor
Hermann Schramm Hermann Schramm (1871–1951) was a German tenor who sang at the Oper Frankfurt in the 1920s and made several recordings for HMV Germany. Although he was Jewish he escaped the deportation and subsequent fate of his colleagues at the Oper Frankfur ...
, bass
Hans Erl Hans Tobias Erl (Warsaw or Vienna 1882 — Deported to Auschwitz, 1942?) was a German operatic bass. Professional career He began his actual career in the theatre during the 1908-1909 season at the Raimund-Theater in Vienna, after already havi ...
(the first King in Schreker's ''
Der Schatzgräber ''Der Schatzgräber'' (''The Treasure Hunter'') is an opera in 5 parts: Prologue, Act I, Act II, Act III and Epilogue by Franz Schreker with a libretto by the composer. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto for the opera in the summer ...
''), baritone
Richard Breitenfeld Richard Breitenfeld (13 October 1869 – 16 December 1944) was a German baritone. He was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Breitenfeld was born in Reichenberg (now in the C ...
and contralto
Magda Spiegel Magda Spiegel (1887–1944) was a German contralto who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The baritone Richard Breitenfeld, also of the Frankfurt Opera, shared the same fate. Pet ...
, who also toured with Frankfurt Opera performing Wagner in the Netherlands. These singers were forced to leave the opera in June 1933. Orff's ''
Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...
'' was premiered at Oper Frankfurt in 1937. Jewish members of the opera company among those rounded up at 9 November 1938 at the
Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering by a variable grandstand system space for up t ...
, where Erl sang ''In diesen Heilgen Hallen'', from the
Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inc ...
for the deportees. Members of Frankfurt Opera were sent to Auschwitz and other camps where they perished.


1945 – 1970s

The opera house was damaged in an air raid in January 1944, and then almost completely destroyed in March. A new house for opera and play was built, completed in 1963 at the Theaterplatz (now
Willy-Brandt-Platz The Willy-Brandt-Platz is a central square in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. Its name was Theaterplatz (Theatre square) until 1992, when it was named after Willy Brandt, the former chancellor. It is located between the Main Station and the Al ...
). In 1952, Georg Solti became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) and Intendant of the Oper Frankfurt, where he remained in charge for nine years.


The Gielen Era

From 1977 to 1987, Frankfurt Opera was led by
Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...
. This decade became known as the "Gielen Era", notable for the music of a conductor who was also a composer, and directors including
Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca the ...
and
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 ...
, whose productions of standard works such as Verdi's ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' and Wagner's ''
Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...
'' were thought-provoking. Operas which received their world premieres at the house were also performed again, including Franz Schreker's ''
Die Gezeichneten ' (''The Branded'' or ''The Stigmatized'') is an opera in three acts by Franz Schreker with a German-language libretto by the composer. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto in 1911 at the request of composer Alexander Zemlinsky based ...
''.


1987 – present

The stage of the opera house was destroyed by a fire in November 1987. The opera house was rebuilt and opened in April 1991. Many famous singers started their career with the company, including
Franz Völker Franz Völker (31 March 1899, Neu-Isenburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse – 4 December 1965, Darmstadt, Hesse) was a dramatic tenor who enjoyed a major European career. He excelled specifically as a performer of the operas of Richard Wagner. He was d ...
,
Edda Moser Edda Moser (born 27 October 1938) is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP ' received the Grand Prix du Disque. Life and career Moser was born in Berlin, th ...
,
Cheryl Studer Cheryl Studer (born October 24, 1955) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated ...
and
Diana Damrau Diana Damrau (; born 31 May 1971) is a German soprano who achieved international fame for her performances, primarily in opera, but also in concert and lieder. She has been successful in coloratura soprano roles since her early career, and gradua ...
, and many established artists have been engaged there in recent seasons including
Christian Gerhaher Christian Gerhaher (born 24 July 1969, in Straubing) is a German baritone and bass singer in opera and concert, particularly known as a Lieder singer. Career Christian Gerhaher studied with Paul Kuën and Raimund Grumbach at the Hochschule ...
, whose roles here have included Monteverdi's ''
L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and ...
'' and his first Wolfram in Wagner's ''
Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...
'',
Piotr Beczała Piotr Beczała (Polish pronunciation: ); born 28 December 1966) is a Polish operatic tenor with an international career based primarily in Europe and the United States. He has performed in the world's leading opera houses including Metropolitan ...
in Massenet's ''
Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...
'' and Jan-Hendrik Rootering in Wagner's ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
''. Since 2002,
Bernd Loebe Bernd Loebe (born 15 December 1952) is a German music journalist and opera manager. After working as a journalist with a focus on opera and voice for the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)'', '' Neue Musikzeitung'', ''Opernwelt'' and Hessisch ...
has served as Intendant of the company. The company's current GMD is
Sebastian Weigle Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt and principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Biography Weigle is a nephew of ...
, since 2008. Weigle has made commercial recordings of opera with the company for the OEHMS Classics label. He is scheduled to stand down as GMD of Oper Frankfurt at the close of the 2022–2023 season. In October 2021, the company announced the appointment of Thomas Guggeis as the next GMD of the company, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years. Oper Frankfurt was voted 1996, 2003, 2015, 2018 and 2020 "Opera House of the Year" by the magazine ''
Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...
''.


Städtische Bühnen

Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) and
Schauspiel Frankfurt The Schauspiel Frankfurt is the municipal theatre company for plays in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is part of Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. History In the late 1770s the theatre principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established th ...
(Theatre Frankfurt) are part of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main GmbH.


Artistic leadership

The first conductors had the title ''Kapellmeister''. From 1924 it was GMD, who often also held the administrative leadership Intendant (Int.). * Felix Otto Dessoff (1880–1892, Kapellmeister) * Ludwig Rottenberg (1893–1924, Kapellmeister) *
Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...
(1924–1929, GMD) *
Hans Wilhelm Steinberg William Steinberg (Cologne, August 1, 1899New York City, May 16, 1978) was a German-American conductor. Biography Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, ...
(1929–1933) * Bertil Wetzelsberger (1933–1934) *
Karl Maria Zwißler Karl Maria Zwißler (12 August 1900 – 15 September 1984) was a German conductor, and academic. He was for decades the Generalmusikdirektor and Intendant of the Staatstheater Mainz. He taught conducting at the music universities of Stuttgart an ...
(1935–1936) *
Georg Ludwig Jochum Georg Ludwig Jochum (sometimes hyphenated as Georg-Ludwig Jochum) (10 December 1909 – 1 November 1970) was a German conducting, conductor and younger brother of better-known conductor Eugen Jochum. He was born in Babenhausen, Bavaria, Babenhause ...
(1937–1938) *
Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901, Fulnek, Moravia – 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent. He started his career on the viola,Schwinger playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtw ...
(1938–1944, GMD) * Bruno Vondenhoff (1945–1951, GMD) * Georg Solti (1952–1961, GMD & Int.) *
Lovro von Matačić Lovro von Matačić (14 February 1899 – 4 January 1985) was a Croatian conductor and composer. Early life Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always s ...
(1961–1966, GMD & Int.) *
Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle ...
(1967–1977, GMD & Int.) *
Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...
(1977–1987, GMD & Int.) *
Gary Bertini Gary Bertini ( he, גארי ברתיני, May 1, 1927 – March 17, 2005) was one of the most important Israeli musicians and conductors. In 1978 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Music. Biography Gary Bertini was born ''Shloyme Golergant'' i ...
(1987–1991, GMD) *
Sylvain Cambreling Sylvain Cambreling (born 2 July 1948 in Amiens, France) is a French conductor. Biography Trained as a trombone player, Cambreling studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He joined l' Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon (OSL) as a trombonist in 1971. In 19 ...
(1993–1997, GMD) * Martin Steinhoff (1997–2002, Int.) *
Paolo Carignani Paolo Carignani (born 1961) is an Italian conductor. He has been chief conductor of the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt (1997–2008),Something Sensational p295 William Guy – 2008 "... and this sort of ecstasy is what occurred for me in F ...
(1999–2008, GMD) *
Bernd Loebe Bernd Loebe (born 15 December 1952) is a German music journalist and opera manager. After working as a journalist with a focus on opera and voice for the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)'', '' Neue Musikzeitung'', ''Opernwelt'' and Hessisch ...
(2002–present, Int.) *
Sebastian Weigle Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt and principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Biography Weigle is a nephew of ...
(2008–present, GMD) * Thomas Guggeis (designated, from 2023)


Premieres

World premieres at the Frankfurt Opera have included:


References


External links


Official homepage of Oper Frankfurt

Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main GmbH

Theatre Frankfurt
* New construction of an opera house:
The Forsythe Company
{{authority control German opera companies Opera houses in Germany Buildings and structures in Frankfurt Culture in Frankfurt Tourist attractions in Frankfurt Frankfurt-Altstadt