Zürich Opera House

The Zurich Opera House, the Opera of Zurich, located in the center of the city at Sechseläutenplatz. Until 1964 the building was named the city theater, opera house ever since; It was opened on September 30, 1891, can accommodate 1,100 people. The Zurich Opera House is led by Artistic Director Andreas Homoki since 2012, he was followed by Alexander Pereira.

History

Zurich's first major theater was the stock theater founded by the theater -Aktiengesellschaft Zurich and opened on November 10, 1834 800 seats in the converted church of the former Barfüsserklosters on Hirschgraben. Thus, the city used the first time a permanent venue for migratory theater groups. After heyday under Charlotte Birch - Pfeiffer's Directorate (1837-1843) and during the stay of Zurich Richard Wagner 's house burned down New Year's Eve of 1889/1890 completely.

According to the plans of the Viennese architects experienced in the theater Fellner und Helmer, the current building, which was originally planned for Krakow and already prepared for construction, was built in a short time. Today, the building in the cantonal inventory is listed for historic preservation. It is largely identical with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (1894 ) and the 1892/1894 established the Court Theatre in Wiesbaden, today Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden. It was opened on September 30, 1891 with a performance of Wagner's Lohengrin. In the early days it served as a music and drama, but focused on the construction of the theater in 1926 on operas, operettas and ballet.

The history of the Zurich Opera House is full of highlights: Here, for example, began the career of Wilhelm Furtwängler and Richard Wagner's Parsifal was first given in 1913 on the outskirts of Bayreuth. Composers such as Ferruccio Busoni, Paul Hindemith, Richard Strauss, Othmar Schoeck, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin influenced the Zurich Music and theater lovers.

Numerous first - and premieres were held at the Zurich Opera House. Alban Berg's Lulu, Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron were performed here for the first time, as well as works by Heinrich Suter Master, Gislher adhesive and Rudolf Kelterborn.

1982 to 1984 the house was remodeled, expanded and renovated. In December 1984, it was opened in The Cherry Orchard with Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Kelterborn's opera based on Anton Chekhov.

In the past, well-known singers such as Sári Barabas, Lisa della Casa, Kirsten Flagstad, Reri Grist, Mirella Freni, Tito Gobbi, Alfredo Kraus, James McCracken, Nikolaj Gjaurow or Wolfgang Wind streets performed here. Today, singers like Agnes Baltsa, Edita Gruber, Cecilia Bartoli, Vesselina Kasarova, Anja Silja, Elena Mosuc, Francisco Araiza, Renato Bruson, Thomas Hampson, Alfred Muff, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi, Matti Salminen and Shicoff members of the ensemble.

In addition to the musical theater and ballet performances, the Zurich Opera House hosts over again Philharmonic concerts, matinees, recitals, productions on the studio stage, children's performances and jazz concerts. Each year, also held in March of the Opera Ball, which is attended by many prominent figures from the entertainment industry, business, sports and politics.

Directors

Conductors

1969-1983 Ferdinand Leitner was the musical director of the opera house, he was succeeded to 1992 Ralf Weikert.

As more conductors are to be mentioned Nello Santi ( since 1958 ) for the Italian repertoire and Nikolaus Harnoncourt (since 1975 to 2011) mainly for Monteverdi and Mozart, more recently, for Johann Strauss, Jacques Offenbach, Carl Maria von Weber and Giuseppe Verdi.

Chief conductor of the Opera House was in 1995, Franz Welser -Möst. Peak under his leadership was the performance of the complete cycle of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung (2001/ 02) and the choice of the orchestra by the magazine world of opera to the orchestra in 2001. Since September 2005, he held the position of General Music Director ( GMD) holds. His contract ran until the summer of 2008. Until the advent of Fabio Luisi at the beginning of the season 2012/13 remained the position of the GMD unoccupied.

Ballet

The Zurich Opera House has its own ballet company of 50 dancers, the ballet Zurich (formerly Zurich Ballet ).

From 1978 to 1985 Balanchine specialist Patricia Neary was ballet director. With the season 1985/1986 Uwe Scholz (1958-2004) became the director and chief choreographer of the company.

In 1991, the young Viennese director, choreographer and stage designer Roger Bernd Bienert was the new head of the Zurich Ballet. Each season came two to three premieres, sensational premieres of contemporary musicians and writers such as Luciano Berio and Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek in Bienert staging the performance. His Nutcracker, for the architect Mario Botta designed his first set, achieved the highest audience usage, which recorded the ballet of the Opera House since its inception, while the third place of all Zürcher Theater productions this season. Bienert took dance stars such as Han Yen or Ethan Stiefel to Zurich. He gained numerous world premieres with the architects Jean Nouvel and Renzo Piano, and composers such as Hans- Jürgen von Bose and Roman hood -Ramati. One further innovation in Bienert Directorate time were reconstructions of important historical dance performances by the Ballets Russes and the Ballets suédois. This happened in collaboration with internationally recognized dance historians Millicent Hodson and Claudia Jeschke. They were pieces like Sacre du Printemps and L' après -midi d'un faune by Nijinsky or Skating Rink by Jean Börlin in the equipment of Fernand Léger to the music of Arthur Honegger.

From 1996 to 2012, the choreographer Heinz Spoerli was ballet director. Under him, the staff spiked ballet company was engaged in a neo-classical style of dance. This let danced performances of the Goldberg Variations or A Midsummer Night's Dream with audiences and critics alike will be successes. With Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker devoted Heinz Spoerli also the great classical ballets. In addition, he brought each dedicated to a great composer feature-length his own choreography premiered Brahms A Ballet (1997 ) ... a clear, bright, beautiful distance (Mozart, 1999), and avoided the wind (Bach, 1999).

In summer 2012 Heinz Spoerli resigned for reasons of age. His successor, Christian spit, previously a choreographer with the Stuttgart Ballet.

Premieres music theater (selection)

• Ferruccio Busoni: Turandot and Arlecchino (11 May 1917)
• Othmar Schoeck: Venus (10 May 1922)
• Robert Stolz: Venus in silk (10 December 1932)
• Robert Stolz: Two Hearts in Three -quarter time (30 September 1933)
• Alexander von Zemlinsky: The Chalk Circle (14 October 1933)
• Joseph Beer: The Prince of Shiraz (1934 )
• Eduard Künneke: heart overboard (30 March 1935)
• Oscar Straus: Three Waltzes (5 October 1935)
• Paul Burkhard: Heave-ho (30 November 1935)
• Emmerich Kálmán: Empress Josephine (18 January 1936)
• Joseph Beer: The Polish Wedding ( 1937)
• Alban Berg: Lulu (2 June 1937)
• Paul Hindemith: Mathis der Maler (28 May 1938)
• Arthur Honegger: Jeanne d' Arc au bûcher (scenic UA, June 13, 1942)
• Paul Burkhard: Casanova in Switzerland ( 1943)
• Heinrich Suter master: Niobe (22 July 1946)
• Paul Burkhard: Tic- Tac (29 March 1947)
• Arnold Schoenberg: Moses und Aron (scenic UA, June 6th 1957)
• Bohuslav Martinu: The Greek Passion (Version 2, June 9th 1961)
• Heinrich Suter master: Madame Bovary (26 May 1967)
• Gislher adhesive: A True Hero ( 1975)
• Rudolf Kelterborn: An angel comes to Babylon (5th June 1977)
• Peter Reber: Keep Smiling (September 18, 1982 at the Corso Theatre)
• Rudolf Kelterborn: The Cherry Orchard (1984 )
• Herbert Willi: Brother of Sleep ( by Robert Schneider, April 28, 1996)
• Heinz Holliger: Snow White ( by Robert Walser, October 17, 1998)
• HK Gruber: Der Herr Nordwind (12 June 2005)
• Edward Rushton: Harley (20 November 2005)
• Edward Rushton: In the shade of the mulberry tree (27 January 2008)
• Marc -André Dalbavie: Gesualdo (9 October 2010)
• Anno Schreier: Blindness ( based on the novel by José Saramago, November 12, 2011 )