The Musikalische Komödie (colloquially MuKo) is an operettas and musicals theatre in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Its venue is located in the Lindenau district in the Haus Dreilinden, which is often referred to as the "Musical Comedy" itself. It is one of the three sections of the

Oper Leipzig The Leipzig Opera () is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspiel perfo ...

. However, it has its own ensemble with soloists, choir, ballet company and orchestra. Because of this and its own venue, it is perceived by the public as an independent cultural institution. Its repertoire ranges from

Spieloper In the 19th century, Spieloper (, 'opera play') was understood to mean a light opera genre, developed from Singspiel. Works typical of the genre include those by Albert Lortzing, such as ''Zar und Zimmermann'', and Otto Nicolai's ''The Merry Wives ...

to operetta and musicals.

History

Haus Dreilinden

The oldest inn in Lindenau was first mentioned in 1495, roughly on the site of the present Musikalische Komödie, and from the beginning of the 18th century it was called "Drei Linden" and

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

is said to have stayed there after the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

. Even before 1900, the inn had a

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

, which was considered a popular destination for Leipzigers and where theatre was also played in the summer. At the beginning of the 20th century, the inn was demolished and the Dreilindenstraße/Zschochersche Straße/Lützener Straße arch was built on with three-storey residential buildings. In the courtyard area of this ensemble, the built a hall in 1912 according to a design by the architect Otto Gerstenberger as a magnificent concert and ballroom with 3000 seats. The hall had a small stage and on the gallery a wine bar and a so-called Biererschwemme. It was used as the "Varieté Drei Linden" from 1913. Its entrance building, which was also equipped with gastronomy, was located in Dreilindenstraße. A conversion in 1918 was geared towards further use as a metropolitan

Varieté ''Variety'' ( , also known by the alternative titles ''Jealousy'' or ''Vaudeville'') is a 1925 German silent drama film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont based on the 1912 novel '' The Oath of Stephan Huller'' by Felix Hollaender. The trapeze ...

. Since all the theatres in the city centre had been destroyed or badly damaged by the end of the Second World War, the hall was used as an alternative venue for the Leipzig Opera from 1945 to 1960. In 1952, an attempt was made to meet the minimal requirements of an opera theatre when the building was rebuilt. With the completion of the opera house on Karl-Marx-Platz in 1960, the hall became available for the operetta theatre. Today the house has 529 seats. Although reconstructions have been carried out in numerous areas since 1992, the galleries are not yet usable. Significant improvements for the artists, e. e.g. in the dressing rooms, have been brought about by ongoing construction measures involving a neighbouring building since 2014. In April 2018, a comprehensive refurbishment of the Musikalische Komödie was approved by Leipzig City Council. A closure of the house is planned from July 2019 to November 2020, during which time the auditorium with

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...

is to be thoroughly modernised. The rear galleries are to be removed and the auditorium redesigned. After the renovation, which is estimated at 7.6 million euros, the seating capacity will be 640. The Leipzig Westbad, where 480 seats will be provided, will serve as an interim during this time. File:Drei Linden 1870.jpg, The inn ''Drei Linden'' ca. 1870 File:Drei Linden vor 1907.jpg, The inn ''Drei Linden'' before 1907 File:Drei Linden 1920.jpg, The ''Varieté Drei Linden'' ca. 1920

Theater

The history of Leipzig's operetta theatre extends beyond that of the Musikalische Komödie. In addition to the operetta performances in the Altes Theater, the "Operettentheater am Thomasring" was established in 1906 in the complex of the on Thomasring (today Dittrichring), which was built in 1901/1902.'', 5 October 1937 In 1912, the theatre was transferred to municipal sponsorship. In the 1920s and 1930s, works by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

Paul Abraham Paul Abraham (; 2 November 1892 – 6 May 1960) was a Jewish-Hungarian composer of operettas, who scored major successes in the German-speaking world. His specialty – and own innovation – was the insertion of jazz interludes into operett ...

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press Biography ...

Ralph Benatzky Ralph Benatzky (5 June 1884 – 16 October 1957), born in Mährisch Budwitz ( Moravské Budějovice) as Rudolph Franz rantišekJosef Benatzky, was an Austrian composer of Moravian origin. He composed operas and operettas, such as '' Casanova'' ...

Paul Lincke Carl Emil Paul Lincke (7 November 1866 – 3 September 1946) was a German composer and theater conductor. He is considered the "father" of the Berlin operetta. His well-known compositions include "" ("Berlin Air"), the unofficial anthem of Berlin ...

and other masters of operetta were performed, often under the conductorship of the composers, and important performers of this genre such as

Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the conce ...

appeared. The theatre operated until it was severely damaged in the Second World War. After the war, the ensemble found temporary accommodation in a hall on

Lindenauer Markt The Lindenauer Markt (litt.: ''Lindenau market'') is a square in Leipzig, Germany. It is in Lindenau which is part of the Leipzig borough Alt-West. The square has both historical and modern significance and is characterized by numerous shops, ...

, later to become the . With soloists, choristers, dancers and orchestral musicians, it formed the core of the second municipal music theatre that was created after the opera moved out of Haus Dreilinden in 1960. This was called "Kleines Haus Dreilinden" and was under the direction of director

Erhard Fischer Martin Erhard Fischer (10 November 1922 – 20 December 1996) was a German music and theater director. Career Born in Radeberg, Fischer studied with in Dresden. His directing debut took place in Radebeul with Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem ...

. Classical operetta and especially the cultivation of the works of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

formed the backbone of the repertoire. Contemporary works of were also cultivated in accordance with the cultural mandate, with varying degrees of success. June 1972, on 15 June 1974

Gerd Natschinski Gerd Natschinski (23 August 1928 – 4 August 2015) was a German composer. He worked on the scores for more than forty film and television series during his career. He was employed the East German state-controlled studio DEFA. Natschinski died on ...

conducted the premiere of his musical ''Terzett'', then ''Keep Smiling'' by Harry Sander and ''Aphrodite and the Sexual War'' by on 30 April 1976. In 1965, Wolfgang Weit became the new artistic director and from 1968 the director of the house, which from that year onwards called itself "Musikalische Komödie". Works of various musical genres, play opera, operetta and works of the 20th century, among others ''

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' () is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the in Leipzig. Some interpreters have viewed the play as a ...

'' (production

Joachim Herz Joachim Herz (15 June 1924 – 18 October 2010) was a German opera director and manager. He learned at the Komische Oper Berlin as an assistant to Walter Felsenstein. His major stations were the Leipzig Opera where he opened the new house with Wa ...

, 1967), were performed. Now the classic

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musicals, such as ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

'', ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' and ''

Can Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally danc ...

'' were also shown. But newer ones like ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film '' Nights of Cabiria''. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse sta ...

'' also made it into the programme. In 1983, Klaus Winter took over the direction with a turn to Viennese operetta and here especially to

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a violinist. He compose ...

and Robert Stolz. The cultivation of Robert Stolz was the particular concern and merit of

Roland Seiffarth Roland Seiffarth (born 1940 in Drebach) is a German opera conductor. He studied at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig and was engaged in 1963 as Solo repetitor, later as ''Kapellmeister'' at the Leipzig Opera. He made his conducting deb ...

, who had been Musical Director and Chief Conductor at the Musikalische Komödie since 1978; he also rehabilitated the operetta composer

Friedrich Schröder Friedrich Schröder (6 August 1910 – 25 September 1972) was a Swiss composer of what could be referred to as light music. Career Born in Näfels, Switzerland, Schröder studied music in Stuttgart, Münster, and Berlin. Already in those ea ...

with the performance of his opera ''Das Bad auf der Tenne'' in 1980. After the disentanglement of the Leipzig "theatre concern" after the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

of 1989 and the brief independence of the Musikalische Komödie, it became an artistically independent part of the ''Oper Leipzig'' (within the framework of a multi-part theatre) under the artistic directorship of

Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig ...

in 1990. The first director under this constellation was ballet master Monika Geppert. Currently, the artistic director of the Leipzig Opera and consequently also of the Musikalische Komödie is

Ulf Schirmer Ulf Schirmer (born 1959) is a German conductor and opera house administrator. Biography Born in Eschenhausen, Lower Saxony, Schirmer studied at the Bremen Conservatory, and also at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, with György Lig ...

. The MuKo's operations director is Torsten Rose, music director and chief conductor is Stefan Klingele, and chief director is Cusch Jung. The ensemble of the Musikalische Komödie consists of 14 singers, 48 musicians of the orchestra, 25 choir members and 15 dancers.

History

Haus Dreilinden

Theater

References

Further reading