Theater Ulm is the municipal theater in the

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

city of

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

in Germany. Founded in 1641, it is the oldest municipal theater in Germany. Today, it operates distinct ensembles for

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

, acting, and ballet. Until 2006, it operated as Ulmer Theater. The current building, at Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz 1, was built from 1966 to 1969, based on plans by Fritz Schäfer. It was opened on 3 October 1969.

History

The earliest records of theater performances in Ulm date back to the early-16th century. In 1641, a theater was built based on plans by

Joseph Furttenbach Joseph Furttenbach the Elder (30 December 1591 – 17 January 1667) was a German architect, mathematician, engineer and diarist. Biography Joseph Furttenbach was born in Leutkirch, Germany. From 1607/08 to 1620 he stayed in Italy (especiall ...

. This building was already equipped with a curtain and an

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

and had

stadium seating Stadium seating or theater seating is a characteristic seating arrangement that is most commonly associated with Performing arts, performing-arts venues, and derives its name from stadiums, which typically use this arrangement. Description In s ...

for 650 people, as well as standing room for 150. Audience capacity was upgraded to a total of 1,000 in 1650. In 1780, the Ulm city council decided to have the municipal coach house be remodeled into a theater building. This building continued to be expanded and remodeled through the 19th century, with the last major expansion dating to 1923.

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

's first engagement was at this theater from 1929 to 1934. Allied bombing sorties almost completely razed this building in 1944 and 1945. The gym hall of the Wagnerschule served as a makeshift replacement in the postwar years, until the opening of the current building in 1969.

Intendants

* Erwin Dieterich (1925–1935) * Reinhold Ockel (1935–1944) * Alfred Mendler (1945–1950) * Gustav Deharde (1950–1953) * Peter Wackernagel (1954–1958, died during season break) * Joachim von Groeling (provisional intendant, 1958–1959) * Kurt Hübner (1959-1962) * Ulrich Brecht (1962–1966) * Detlof Krüger (1966–1973) * Peter Borchardt (1973–1979) * Volkmar Clauß (1979–1985) * Pavel Fieber (1985–1991) * Bernd Wilms (1991–1994) * Ansgar Haag (1994–2006) * Andreas von Studnitz (2006–2018) * Kay Metzger (since 2018)

Bibliography

* ''Das Ulmer Theater im neuen Haus: Sonderbeilage der Südwest Presse zur Eröffnung des neuen Ulmer Theaters am 3. Oktober 1969''. Ulm, 1969 * ''Theater in Ulm''. Compiled by Hans Radspieler, Ulm: Ulmer Volksbank, 1991

References

External links

* Theatres in Baden-Württemberg Buildings and structures in Ulm 1960s architecture {{BadenWürttemberg-struct-stub