Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt (literally: municipal stages of Frankfurt) is the municipal theatre company of

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 ...

, the largest city of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

Germany. The name dates back to 1919. The company is structured today in two organisations,

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

for 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 ...

for drama (''Schauspiel''). The largest venue for both organisations is their common home, the Opern- und Schauspielhaus at the

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 A ...

in the centre of Frankfurt. It was opened in 1963 at the location of the former Schauspielhaus. The Bockenheimer Depot is an external stage for both organisations.

History

Opened in 1782, the ''Comoedienhaus'' (comedy house) was the first permanent venue of theatre in Frankfurt, for both plays and opera. In 1880, an opera house (''Opernhaus'') was built. Both sections (''Sparten'') were organised as the ''Vereinigte Stadttheater'' (Common city theatres), headed by general manager (''Generalintendant'') . In 1902, a Schauspielhaus was opened for plays, designed by

Heinrich Seeling Heinrich Seeling (1 October 1852 – 15 February 1932) was a German architect. Life He was born the son of a bricklayer in the Thuringian town of Zeulenroda, then part of the sovereign Principality of Reuss within the German Confederation. Seeli ...

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

. From 1919, the name was changed to Städtische Bühnen. Bombing in World War II destroyed the Opernhaus and damaged the Schauspielhaus badly. After the war, performances were held at the hall of the

Frankfurt Stock Exchange The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time). Organisation Locat ...

instead. Based on the ruins of the Schauspielhaus, a new facility was created to provide both plays and operas, and realized in stages completed in 1963. The ruin of the Schauspielhaus was restored from 1950 to 1951, as Großes Haus der Städtischen Bühnen. In 1954, planning began for a larger and more modern house, again as a modification of the existing location. Beginning in 1959, per the designs of architectural firm Apel & Beckert, the facade was completely replaced, with some elements of the old house partly retained inside. The new house was decorated by a large painting commissioned from

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

in 1959, ''Commedia dell’Arte''. The ceiling of the foyer which is common for play and opera is decorated with a sculpture by Zoltán Kemény, ''Goldwolken'' (''Golden Clouds''). The house was opened in December 1963. On 12 November 1987, fire damaged the large hall. During restoration, opera was played in the small hall, while plays were performed at the Bockenheimer Depot. The large hall was back in service in 1991.

Organisation

Städtische Bühnen was an organisation with one general manager (''Generalintendant'') until 1972. The artistic sections were then split to

and

, served by a common technical stage service. Schauspiel Frankfurt was headed in 1972 by

Peter Palitzsch Peter Palitzsch (11 September 1918 – 18 December 2004) was a German theatre director. He worked with Bertolt Brecht in his Berliner Ensemble from the beginning in 1949, and was in demand internationally as a representative of Brecht's ideas. He ...

who introduced ''Mitbestimmung'' ( copartnership), supported by city councillor

Hilmar Hoffmann Hilmar Hoffmann (25 August 1925 – 1 June 2018) was a German stage and film director, cultural politician and academic lecturer. He founded the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. He was for decades an influential city councillor in Fr ...

, which became the ''Frankfurter Modell'', a model for other theatres such as

Theater Bremen Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectato ...

. In 2004, the organisation was changed to a GmbH of the city of Frankfurt, with the artistic directors as chief executive officers, as of 2019

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 ...

and . The was part of the Städtische Bühnen from 1995 until it was closed in 2004.

Ballett Frankfurt The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is a contemporary dance ensemble of eighteen dancers based in Dresden and Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded in 2005 as The Forsythe Company by American choreographer William Forsythe following the closure of ...

was closed, also in 2004. Its director from 1984, William Forsythe, continued his program with ''

The Forsythe Company The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is a contemporary dance ensemble of eighteen dancers based in Dresden and Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded in 2005 as The Forsythe Company by American choreographer William Forsythe following the closure of ...

'' from April 2005 to 2015.

References

External links

*
Oper Frankfurt

Schauspiel Frankfurt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stadtische Buhnen Frankfurt Theatre companies in Germany German opera companies Culture in Frankfurt