The Oper am Gänsemarkt was a theatre in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany, built in 1678 after plans of Girolamo Sartorio at the Gänsemarkt square. It was the first public opera house to be established in Germany: not a court opera, as in many other towns. Everybody could buy a ticket, like in Venice. Most works were in the German language or translated librettos (from Italian). The building was torn down in 1756, but rebuilt in 1765.

History

The founding of the Hamburg opera was an initiative of the well-traveled lawyer and alderman Gerhard Schott, who was impressed by Italian opera and

Johann Adam Reincken Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the 1 ...

, a local church organist.

Johann Theile Johann Theile (29 July 1646 – 24 June 1724) was a German composer of the Baroque era, famous for the opera ''Adam und Eva, Der erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch'', first performed in Hamburg on 2 January 1678. Life After stud ...

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Christian Albert (, Gottorp – , Gottorp) was a duke of Holstein-Gottorp and bishop of Lübeck. Biography Christian Albert was a son of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and his wife Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. He became d ...

, who lived during the years 1675–1679 and 1684–1689 in exile in the city, organised its first performance. For the construction of the stage the Italian engineer and architect Girolamo Sartorio was attracted by the private company. Protests and accusations by some Hamburg ministers before and after the opening held on for several years, and is known as the first "Hamburger Theaterstreit". The opening of the house took place on 2 January 1678 with

's sacred opera ''Adam und Eva'', succeeded by works of

Nicolò Minato Count Nicolò Minato (b. Bergamo, ca. 1627; d. Vienna, 28 February 1698) was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 u ...

and

Antonio Sartorio Antonio Sartorio (1630 – 30 December 1680) was an Italian composer active mainly in Venice, Italy, and in Hanover, Germany. He was a leading composer of operas in his native Venice in the 1660s and 1670s and was also known for composing in o ...

Johann Wolfgang Franck Johann Wolfgang Franck (17 June 1644 in Unterschwaningen, Mittelfranken – ca. 1710 in London) was a German baroque composer. Life He worked from 1673 to 1679 as Kapellmeister in Ansbach and then lived from 1679 to 1690 in Hamburg. Here he in ...

with ''Cara Mustapha'' (1686),

Agostino Steffani Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian bishop, polymath, diplomat and composer. Education Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 1654. As a boy he was admitted as a chorister at San Marco, Venice. Steff ...

, Carlo Pallavicino and Johann Sigismund Kusser. Because of an argument with the management, Kusser organized an opera in the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

of the local Dom. In 1695

Reinhard Keiser Reinhard Keiser (9 January 1674 – 12 September 1739) was a German opera composer based in Hamburg. He wrote over a hundred operas. Johann Adolf Scheibe (writing in 1745) considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau, George Frideric Handel and Georg ...

took over the post of

until 1718; from 1703 to 1707 he also held the directorship. In 1703

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

came from Halle to Hamburg as a cembalist and violin player, and a famous duel took place between Handel and Mattheson, during and after which ''Cleopatra'' was performed. One of the musicians was

Christoph Graupner Christoph Graupner (10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg i ...

. In 1705 (?) Handel met with

Gian Gastone de' Medici Gian Gastone de' Medici (born Giovanni Battista Gastone; 25 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. His sister, Elect ...

, who invited him to

Pratolino The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1822. Its remains are now part of the Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna. History Th ...

Johann Mattheson Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic, lexicographer and music theorist. His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and the ...

Georg Friedrich Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well-known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

Nicolaus Adam Strungk Nicolaus Adam Strungk (christened 15 November 1640 in Braunschweig – 23 September 1700 in Dresden) was a German composer and violinist. Life Nicolaus Adam was the son of the organist Delphin Strungk. He studied organ under his father, then a ...

Johann Philipp Förtsch Johann Philipp Förtsch (14 May 1652 – 14 December 1732) was a German baroque composer, statesman and medical doctor. Life Förtsch was born in Wertheim and possibly received his musical education from Johann Philipp Krieger. Moving to Hamburg ...

Georg Bronner Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: ...

Johann Philipp Krieger Johann Philipp Krieger (also ''Kriger'', ''Krüger'', ''Krugl'', and ''Giovanni Filippo Kriegher''; baptised 27 February 1649; died 7 February 1725) was a German people, German Baroque composer and organist. He was the elder brother of Johann Kri ...

Georg Caspar Schürmann Georg Caspar Schürmann (1672 (or early 1673), in Idensen bei Neustadt am Rübenberge – 25 February 1751, in Wolfenbüttel) was a German Baroque composer. His name also appears as Schurmann and in Hochdeutsch as Scheuermann. Life Schürmann s ...

, and Johann Georg Conradi composed

Singspiele A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with Musical ensemble, ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often Stroph ...

baroque opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

's for the Hamburg opera. There were performances on two or three days a week, and around 90 performances a year. The opera season started in Winter; in Summer and on religious holidays the theatre was closed. Because of the long scene changes each performance took four to six hours and began by afternoon. In 1722

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...

took over the management of the opera house, which he held until the end of 1738. In 1627 the first German opera ''

Dafne ''Dafne'' is the earliest known work that, by modern standards, could be considered an opera. The libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini, based on an earlier intermedio created in 1589, "Combattimento di Apollo col serpente Pitone," and set to music by ...

'' (lost) by

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...

was performed. From 1743 till 1750 the building was used by Angelo Mingotti, performing Italian opera's by Hasse and

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

performed his works in 1748.Ein Opernhaus für Hamburg
hamburgballett.de In 1750 the building was sold.

Second house

Between 1767 and 1770

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...

was the dramatist in what was called Deutsches Nationaltheater.

References

Sources

* Wolff, H.C. (1957) Die Barockoper in Hamburg (1678–1738) Möseler Verlag. Wolfenbüttel. * Die frühe deutsche Oper am Gänsemarkt * Bereich Hamburger Gänsemarktope

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oper am Gansemarkt Theatres in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte 1678 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Buildings and structures completed in 1678 Theatres completed in the 1670s Music venues completed in 1678 1756 disestablishments in Europe