Theater Chemnitz is the municipal theatre organization in Chemnitz, Germany. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theatre take place in its three main venues: the Opernhaus Chemnitz (for opera, ballet and musical theatre), the Stadthalle Chemnitz (for concerts), and the Schauspielhaus Chemnitz (for plays and puppet theatre). The award-winning opera company has produced a series of rarely performed works, and several German premieres. Its orchestra is named the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie.

Opernhaus Chemnitz

Located at Theaterplatz 2 the Theater Chemnitz was designed by the German architect and built between 1906 and 1909. Following its destruction during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it was reconstructed between 1947 and 1951. It was renovated again from 1988 to 1992, and is considered to be one of the most modern opera houses in Europe. It seats 720 people. Intendant Bernhard Helmich focused on the presentation of rarely played historic operas, such as Mascagni's ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

'', Nicolai's ''

Il templario ''Il templario'' is an Italian-language opera by the German composer Otto Nicolai from a libretto written by based on Walter Scott's 1819 novel ''Ivanhoe''. It has been noted that Nicolai's work for the opera stage, which followed the successfu ...

'' and '' Die Heimkehr des Verbannten'', Pfitzner's ''

Die Rose vom Liebesgarten ''Die Rose vom Liebesgarten'' is a 1900 opera by Hans Pfitzner to a libretto by James Grun, one of Pfitzner's fellow students at the Frankfurt Conservatory, which had been prompted by an 1890 painting by Hans Thoma ''Der Wächter vor dem Liebesga ...

'', Reznicek's ''Benzin'', and Schreker's ''

Der Schmied von Gent ''Der Schmied von Gent'' is a "Grand magical opera" in three acts by Franz Schreker with a German-language libretto by the composer after the story ''Smetse Smee'' by the Flemish author Charles de Coster. Composition history The work was composed ...

''. ''Vasco de Gama'', an early version of Meyerbeer's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French ''grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', bu ...

'', was named ''Wiederentdeckung des Jahres'' (Rediscovery of the year) in 2013 by the journal

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 ...

. German premieres have included Jonathan Dove's ''Pinocchios Abenteuer'', and both ''

Love and Other Demons ''Love and Other Demons'' is an opera in two acts by Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös to a libretto by the Hungarian author Kornél Hamvai. It premiered on 10 August 2008 at the Glyndebourne Festival. The libretto is based on the novel ''Of ...

'' and ''Paradise Reloaded (Lilith)'' by

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös ( hu, Eötvös Péter, ; born 2 January 1944) is a Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher. Eötvös was born in Székelyudvarhely, Transylvania, then part of Hungary, now Romania. He studied composition in Budapest and Colog ...

. Two productions received the German theatre award

Der Faust ''Der Faust'', officially ''Deutscher Theaterpreis Der Faust'', is a German theatre prize, a national prize from 2006. It is awarded annually by the organizations Deutscher Bühnenverein, , Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste and the stat ...

in 2007: Prokofiev's '' Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen'', staged by , and the ballet '' Giselle M.'' in a choreography by Stephan Toss.Stephan Toss
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Stadthalle Chemnitz

Located at Theaterstraße 3 was built between 1969 and 1974 as a multi-purpose concert hall in the centre of the city. It was opened in 1974 and is the official home of the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie, or short: Philharmonie. The orchestra performs a series of ten symphonic concerts there annually, as well as special concerts and chamber music performances. The orchestra also participates in opera, ballet, and musical theatre productions in the opera house.

Schauspielhaus Chemnitz

Located at Zieschestraße 28 the playhouse is a new building, opened in 1980, after the former house burnt down in 1976 and was demolished. The repertory is focused on literary drama. Its smaller stage in the east wing, opened in 2011, is dedicated to the performance of premieres and contemporary theatre. A smaller stage within the playhouse, formerly ''Kleine Bühne'', is the main venue for the Figurentheater. Performances are staged with traditional

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

s, hand puppets, and

rod puppet A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hand or hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppeteer ...

s, as well as with free-forms of artistic puppet theatre.

References

External links

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Theater Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Theater Chemnitz
Operabase
Theater Chemnitz
Klassik heute {{authority control Opera houses in Germany Music venues completed in 1909 Theatres completed in 1909 Theatres completed in 1951 Music venues completed in 1951

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 libr ...