Musiktheater im Revier
Encyclopedia
Musiktheater im Revier (Music Theatre in the Ruhr
) is the venue for performing opera
, operetta
, musical theatre
and ballet
in Gelsenkirchen
, Germany. It opened on 15 December 1959; it is listed since 1997 as a protected cultural monument.
The building offers two performance spaces: the Large House (Großes Haus) with 1,008 seats and about 200 performances per year, and the Small House (Kleines Haus) with 336 seats and about 120 annual performances. In contrast to the building's outside cubic appearance, the auditoria use a more curved design.
. They consist of one 7×20 m (7 metres (23 ft)×20 metres (65.6 ft)) monochrome sponge sculpture in a distinctive blue ("Gelsenkirchen Blue") because Klein's International Klein Blue
was unsuitable for the large walls: the aceton-based mixture evaporated, the paint lost adhesion and luminescence, and it was highly flammable. A second, slightly smaller work, is in blue and white. These intensely blue reliefs, which are visible from the outside through the glass skin of the building, inspired the city's graphic artist, Uwe Gelesch, to introduce blue as Gelsenkirchen's house colour. The Small House features a mobile
by Jean Tinguely
. The building served as a location for the 1961 film The Miracle of Father Malachia
by Bernhard Wicki.
Like most German municipal theatres (Stadttheater), the Musiktheater im Revier employs its own opera company and chorus and a ballet company under the direction of Bernd Schindowski. The house orchestra is the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the largest of the three state orchestras in North Rhine-Westphalia
; Heiko Mathias Förster is the music director
. The orchestra is funded by the cities of Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen
and the district of Unna
.
In 1968, Bernd Alois Zimmermann
's work Photoptosis was premiered at the Musiktheater im Revier. The first performance of Albert Lortzing
's 1899 opera Regina which used the composer's original libretto
took place at the MiR in 1998. On 10 October 2003, Alexander Mullenbach
's chamber opera Die Todesbrücke (The Death Bridge) saw its premiere here. Enjott Schneider
composed a musical for the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 2004 of the soccer team FC Schalke 04
(spoken: Schalke nullvier) which was premiered on 9 May 2004. The title Nullvier – Keiner kommt an Gott vorbei! with a double meaning was translated by the composer to Zerofour: Nobody comes past God, but might be rendered also as "04 – Nobody Outdribbles God!". The musical Strike Up the Band by George Gershwin saw its German premiere at the MiR in 2007 as had the German language production of his opera Porgy and Bess
in 1970.
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
) is the venue for performing opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
in Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Germany. It opened on 15 December 1959; it is listed since 1997 as a protected cultural monument.
The building offers two performance spaces: the Large House (Großes Haus) with 1,008 seats and about 200 performances per year, and the Small House (Kleines Haus) with 336 seats and about 120 annual performances. In contrast to the building's outside cubic appearance, the auditoria use a more curved design.
Design
The building was designed by the German architect Werner Ruhnau. The cubic outer shell of the Large House is formed by a 4500 sqm glass facade, which gives view into the interior and the cylindric casing of the auditorium and its stairways, and the two monumental sculptures by the French artist Yves KleinYves Klein
Yves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
. They consist of one 7×20 m (7 metres (23 ft)×20 metres (65.6 ft)) monochrome sponge sculpture in a distinctive blue ("Gelsenkirchen Blue") because Klein's International Klein Blue
International Klein Blue
International Klein Blue is a deep blue hue first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein. IKB's visual impact comes from its heavy reliance on Ultramarine, as well as Klein's often thick and textured application of paint to canvas.- History :...
was unsuitable for the large walls: the aceton-based mixture evaporated, the paint lost adhesion and luminescence, and it was highly flammable. A second, slightly smaller work, is in blue and white. These intensely blue reliefs, which are visible from the outside through the glass skin of the building, inspired the city's graphic artist, Uwe Gelesch, to introduce blue as Gelsenkirchen's house colour. The Small House features a mobile
Mobile (sculpture)
A mobile is a type of kinetic sculpture constructed to take advantage of the principle of equilibrium. It consists of a number of rods, from which weighted objects or further rods hang. The objects hanging from the rods balance each other, so that the rods remain more or less horizontal...
by Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely
Jean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics...
. The building served as a location for the 1961 film The Miracle of Father Malachia
The Miracle of Father Malachia
The Miracle of Father Malachia is a 1961 West German black-and-white film directed by Bernhard Wicki and starring Horst Bollmann. The film is based on the 1938 novel Father Malachy's Miracle by Bruce Marshall and tells the story of a supposed miracle in a West German town that is soon exploited...
by Bernhard Wicki.
Music theatre
When the theatre opened in 1959, it provided also for the spoken theatre, a typical German Drei-Sparten-Theater (three performing arts theater: opera, ballet, plays). Austerity measures in 1966/67 forced the abandonment of plays.Like most German municipal theatres (Stadttheater), the Musiktheater im Revier employs its own opera company and chorus and a ballet company under the direction of Bernd Schindowski. The house orchestra is the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the largest of the three state orchestras in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
; Heiko Mathias Förster is the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
. The orchestra is funded by the cities of Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
and the district of Unna
Unna (district)
The Unna district is a Kreis in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring authorities are the district of Coesfeld, the city of Hamm, the districts of Soest and Märkischer Kreis, the cities of Hagen and Dortmund, and the district of Recklinghausen.-History:The area of the present...
.
In 1968, Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
's work Photoptosis was premiered at the Musiktheater im Revier. The first performance of Albert Lortzing
Albert Lortzing
Gustav Albert Lortzing was a German composer, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German Spieloper, a form similar to the French opéra comique, which grew out of the Singspiel.-Biography:Lortzing was born in Berlin to Johann Gottlieb Lortzing and Charlotte Sophie...
's 1899 opera Regina which used the composer's original libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
took place at the MiR in 1998. On 10 October 2003, Alexander Mullenbach
Alexander Mullenbach
Alexander Mullenbach is a Luxembourg pianist, composer and conductor. Since 2002, he has been director of the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.-Career:...
's chamber opera Die Todesbrücke (The Death Bridge) saw its premiere here. Enjott Schneider
Enjott Schneider
Enjott Schneider is a German composer, musicologist, and music educator. As a composer he is best known for his film work, having won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Film Score in 1990, the Filmband in Gold in 1991, and the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 2007, the latter for his work on March of...
composed a musical for the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 2004 of the soccer team FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
(spoken: Schalke nullvier) which was premiered on 9 May 2004. The title Nullvier – Keiner kommt an Gott vorbei! with a double meaning was translated by the composer to Zerofour: Nobody comes past God, but might be rendered also as "04 – Nobody Outdribbles God!". The musical Strike Up the Band by George Gershwin saw its German premiere at the MiR in 2007 as had the German language production of his opera Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
in 1970.