The Zurich Opera House () is an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

in the Swiss city of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Located at the

Sechseläutenplatz Sechseläutenplatz (literally: ''Sechseläuten'' square) is the largest town square situated in Zurich, Switzerland. Its name derives from the '' Sechseläuten'' (the city's traditional spring holiday), which is celebrated on the square in April. ...

, it has been the home of the

Zurich Opera Zurich Opera (Opernhaus Zürich) is a Swiss opera company based in Zurich. The company gives performances in the Zurich Opera House. History The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's ...

since 1891, and also houses the

Bernhard-Theater Zürich The Bernhard-Theater Zürich or Bernhard Theater is a theatre in German-speaking Switzerland situated at Sechseläutenplatz in Zürich. It is part of the building complex '' Opernhaus Zürich'' and also houses the ''Restaurant Belcanto''. The t ...

. It is also home to

Ballett Zürich Ballett Zürich, formerly known as Zürich Ballet, is the largest professional ballet company in Switzerland. Its principal venue is the Zürich Opera House and it regularly tours across the country. The company includes an ensemble cast of 36 d ...

. It received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2014

International Opera Awards The International Opera Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring excellence in opera around the world. Origins The International Opera Awards was founded in 2013 by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist and supporter of opera, and ...

History

The first permanent theatre in Zurich, the , was built in 1834 and it became the focus of

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

’s activities during his period of exile from Germany. The burnt down in 1890. The new (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects

Fellner & Helmer Fellner & Helmer was an architecture studio founded in 1873 by Austrian architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. They designed over 200 buildings (mainly opera houses and apartment buildings) across Europe in the late 19th and early 20th c ...

, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was built in only 16 months and was opened in 1891 and became the first opera house in Europe to have electrical lighting. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when the Bernhard Theater was built for separate plays. Opening in 1941, the Esplanada building was demolished in May 1981, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the department store building at the nearby

Schanzengraben Schanzengraben is a moat and a section of the northwestern extension of the '' Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887 in Zurich, Switzerland. Schanzengraben is, among the adjoint ''Katz'' bastion at the Old Botanical G ...

. The original theatre was renamed in 1964. By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, preceded by the opposing (opera house riots), rebuilding took place. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with

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

’s ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

opera '' Der Kirschgarten''. As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of

Weber Weber may refer to: Places United States * Weber, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Weber City, Virginia, a town * Weber City, Fluvanna County, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Weber County, Utah * Weber Canyon, Utah * Weber R ...

, Wagner, and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. Additionally, busts of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style and seats approximately 1100 people. Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the

Predigerkirche Zürich Predigerkirche is one of the four main churches of the old town of Zürich, Switzerland, besides Fraumünster, Grossmünster and St. Peter. First built in 1231 AD as a Romanesque church of the then Dominican ''Predigerkloster'', the Basilica wa ...

. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children.

Opera Studio

The Zurich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio () which is an educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists teaching such as

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was Theater manager, intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the ti ...

Hedwig Fassbender Hedwig Fassbender (born 23 October 1954) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano and academic voice teacher. She has appeared in leading roles at major European opera houses, including some soprano roles such as Wagner's Isolde and Sieglinde. Car ...

, , Eytan Pessen.

Youth protests of 1980

In response to the combination of high subsidies for the Opera and the lack of cultural programs for the youth in Zurich, large protests were held in May 1980. The protests became known as the youth protests – , meaning ''Zurich is burning'', as documented in the 1981 Swiss documentary film of the same name.

Financing

Opernhaus Zürich AG is organised pursuant to Swiss law as a

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG ) is a German language, German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e., one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria ...

(share company) and it operates a music theatre and ballet under the authority of

Canton of Zurich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

that has been providing the main funding since 1995. Swiss bank

UBS UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the ...

as well as

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

are partners of Opernhaus Zürich AG."Thank You"
Zurich Opera House

References

External links

*

{{Authority control, state=collapsed Opera houses in Switzerland Concert halls in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zurich Tourist attractions in Zurich Theatres completed in 1834 Music venues completed in 1834 Theatres completed in 1891 Music venues completed in 1891 Fellner & Helmer buildings Cultural venues in Zurich 19th-century architecture in Switzerland Music in Zurich