Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

The Festspielhaus Baden -Baden is the largest with 2,500 seats in Germany opera house and concert hall.

The new building was an architectural integration of the former Baden-Baden city railway station (now the ticket hall, Festspielhaus Restaurant Aida ) opened on 18 April 1998. Architect of the new building was the Viennese Wilhelm Bauer wood. Planned from the beginning as a privately funded cultural institution managed by a public start-up financing the transition to the first privately funded European opera and concert business. The private cultural foundation Festspielhaus Baden -Baden is since March 2000 the carrier of operator -GmbH, Director Andreas Mölich - Zebhauser. The Cultural Foundation awards annually since 2003, the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize.

It is since 2000 the only German stage house, which does not require subsidies. The budget of 20 million euros is financed to 60 percent from ticket sales and 30 percent from other economic activities, the rest of gastronomy and travel services. The average utilization of ideas is 85 percent.

Program

The program of the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden is organized throughout the year by four festival periods. The Whitsun, Summer, Autumn and Winter Festival bring at least one opera production and numerous classical concerts. Three to four times per year guesting renowned ballet dance companies in the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden. The program is rounded off by entertainment shows.

Grand opera productions at the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden were previously among other things:

• La traviata ( Valery Gergiev, conductor / Philippe Arlaud, Director, 2001),
• Fidelio ( Simone Young, conductor / Philippe Arlaud, Director, 2002),
• The Abduction from the Seraglio (Marc Minkowski, conductor / Macha Makaieff and Jérôme Deschamps, Director, 2003),
• The Ring of the Nibelung ( Valery Gergiev, conductor and concept / George Tsypin, stage, 2003/2004),
• Rigoletto ( Thomas Hengelbrock, conductor / Philippe Arlaud, Director, 2004),
• Parsifal (Kent Nagano, conductor / Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Director, 2004),
• The Magic Flute ( Abbado, conductor / Daniele Abbado, director, 2005),
• Aida ( Kazushi Ono, conductor / Robert Wilson, Director, 2006),
• Lohengrin (Kent Nagano, conductor / Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Director, 2006).

Since the year 2006, found at the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden particularly following large-scale opera productions attention:

• "Tannhäuser" ( Philippe Jordan, conductor / Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Director, 2008),
• "Der Rosenkavalier " (Christian Thielemann, conductor / Herbert Wernicke, Director, 2009),
• " Der Freischütz" ( Thomas Hengelbrock, conductor / Robert Wilson, Director, 2009),
• " Elektra " (Christian Thielemann, conductor / Herbert Wernicke, Director, 2010).
• " Ariadne auf Naxos " (Christian Thielemann, conductor / Philipp Arlaud, Director, 2012).

The conductor Christian Thielemann, Thomas Hengelbrock and Teodor Currentzis are the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden closely linked and are here in the future many concerts and opera productions lead.

The Festspielhaus Baden -Baden has worked regularly with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden -Baden and Freiburg, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Balthasar -Neumann- Ensemble, the Deutsches Symphonie -Orchester Berlin and in the future with the Staatskapelle Dresden. More regular partners are the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg (Kirov Ballet ), the Festival d' Aix -en- Provence and other leading opera houses and festivals. In the ballet area include the Mariinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, and since 1998 the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier to steady partners of the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden. At the Annual Press Conference 2010 Director Andreas Mölich - Zebhauser has announced that the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden in the future only productions will bring out. Numerous productions of the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden are released on DVD and BluRay. Among them are " Lohengrin ," " Tannhauser ," " Parsifal ," " Der Rosenkavalier " and " Ariadne Auf Naxos ". On CD, among other recordings with "Norma" ( Edita Gruberova ) and "Rigoletto" ( Thomas Hengelbrock ) have appeared on the market.

Since 2003, the Festspielhaus Baden -Baden operates an education program. Under the motto " Columbus - Discover Classic! " Students are introduced to classical music. Here, the Festspielhaus is working with the ensemble " chamber boy Cologne Opera " as well as international experts for music education. In addition to the " children's music festivals ", a school project, includes seminars for adults. Sponsors enable the young opera, concert and ballet visits.