The Theater St. Gallen is a

performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to: * A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. :The ...

for opera, musical, ballet, and theatre in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and considered to be the oldest professional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Although the monks Tutilo and Notker already inspired briefly lay theatre in St. Gallen during the Middle Ages, theatre did not flourish for a long time because of moral concerns. In the early 19th century interest in theatre was reawakened. After the first performance on October 14, 1801 in modest surroundings, a "Theater Stock Company" was founded in 1805 to support a local professional theatre group. When they needed a larger place for their performances, the architect Johann Christoph Kunkler built a theater into which the group moved in 1857. This "Kunkler-Bau" remained the home of the formerly called ''Stadttheater St. Gallen'' for 111 years until 1968. The building was then demolished. St Gallen Theater Treppe

The current building was designed by the Swiss architect Claude Paillard and inaugurated with Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'' on March 15, 1968. The building houses two stages, the larger one allows 742 persons and the studio 100 persons to attend. With the construction of the new building, the stock company was replaced by a consortium with participation of the town of St. Gallen and its canton. Surrounding communities thereafter joined in the venture. The "Genossenschaft Konzert und Theater St. Gallen" ("Cooperative for concert and theatre of St. Gallen") is since 2000 the supporting organization for the orchestre and theatre of St. Gallen. The "Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen" therefore provides orchestral support for operas and musicals. Each year about 20 new productions are introduced. Among them, in 2009, the theater featured the world premiere of ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', a musical by

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitne ...

.Gans, Andre
Borchert to Star in World Premiere of Wildhorn's Count of Monte Cristo"
, playbill.com, February 18, 2009 The theatre's 390 annual performances are seen by about 140,000 attendees.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theater Saint Gallen Theater St. Gallen Theatres in Switzerland Opera houses in Switzerland Dance in Switzerland Performing arts centres Theater St. Gallen Theatres completed in 1801 Theatres completed in 1857 Theatres completed in 1968 Music venues completed in 1968 1801 establishments in Europe Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen

References

Further reading

External links