Salzburg Marionette Theatre
Encyclopedia
Salzburg Marionette Theatre was established in 1913 and is one of the oldest continuing marionette
theatres in the world. It is based in the city of Salzburg
, Austria
. Original productions featured live actors and musicians. Today soundtracks are recorded. The Salzburg Marionette Theatre performs a large repertoire of operas, ballets and productions for children, using marionettes.
Anton Aicher
. Its original production was Bastien and Bastienne
, a marionette version of Mozart's famous opera
. The company repertoire was expanded the following year to incorporate thirteen additional productions.
The Salzburg Marionette Theatre grew more adventurous and started to tour its productions abroad, starting in Hamburg
. Germany
in 1927. The company made further tours to the Balkan countries. In 1936, a tour was made to the Soviet Union
visiting Moscow
and Leningrad
. As a sign of artistic excellence, the company was awarded the Gold Medal
at the World Fair
in Paris
, France
. In the fateful year of 1938, the year Austria
was incorporated into Germany
, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre made an extensive tour of Germany and also Sweden
.
During World War II, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre was instructed to make tours to the front and performed in German occupied Norway
, Poland
, Russia
and Romania
until it was forced to cease operations in 1944.
With Hermann Aicher's return from the front, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre started up its performances again performing for the occupying American, British and French military forces. 1947 marked a special year with the first German language performances staged by the company in Paris. The 1950s were filled with touring. 1950 marked the first year sound for performances was recorded. Prior to this everything had been performed by live actors and musicians. 1952 marked the beginning of a five year contract, touring the United States
. International touring became a permanent feature of the company. Of course performances also occurred in Salzburg.
Up until 1971, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre had performed in a variety of different premises in Salzburg. In 1971, the company acquired its very own theatre in the former ballroom of the Mirabell Hotel. Its first production there was Rossini's Barber of Seville. In 1973, the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the company, a film was made about its unique work and theatre.
In 1977, the driving force behind the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, Hermann Aicher died. Artistic control passed into the hands of Gretl Aicher
.
To mark the 70th birthday of Gretl Aicher
and the 85th anniversary of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, a special exhibition of marionettes was opened at the Salzburg Hohensalzburg Fortress. Since that time the company has continued to tour and perform in its own theatre with an ever increasing repertoire of productions featuring not just the works of Mozart, but also many other famous composers such as Johann Strauss
and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
2007 marked a special year in the history of the company. Bastien and Bastienne
was once again performed as well as the premiere of a new production of The Sound of Music
, directed by Richard Hamburger. Salzburg of course featured heavily in the film production of the same name made in the early 1960s starring Julie Andrews
and Christopher Plummer
telling the story of the Von Trapp family singers.
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
theatres in the world. It is based in the city of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Original productions featured live actors and musicians. Today soundtracks are recorded. The Salzburg Marionette Theatre performs a large repertoire of operas, ballets and productions for children, using marionettes.
History
The Salzburg Marionette Theatre was founded in 1913 by ProfessorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Anton Aicher
Anton Aicher
Anton Aicher was the founding Artistic Director of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre. He founded the company in 1913 and was its leader until his death.-Background:...
. Its original production was Bastien and Bastienne
Bastien und Bastienne
Bastien und Bastienne , K. 50 is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart....
, a marionette version of Mozart's famous 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...
. The company repertoire was expanded the following year to incorporate thirteen additional productions.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1927. The company made further tours to the Balkan countries. In 1936, a tour was made to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
visiting Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. As a sign of artistic excellence, the company was awarded the Gold Medal
Gold Medal
Gold Medal is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2004 on Atlantic Records. It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD...
at the World Fair
World fair
World Fair can refer to:* Expo , a large public exhibition* This World Fair, an American rock band...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In the fateful year of 1938, the year Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
was incorporated into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre made an extensive tour of Germany and also Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
During World War II, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre was instructed to make tours to the front and performed in German occupied Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
until it was forced to cease operations in 1944.
With Hermann Aicher's return from the front, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre started up its performances again performing for the occupying American, British and French military forces. 1947 marked a special year with the first German language performances staged by the company in Paris. The 1950s were filled with touring. 1950 marked the first year sound for performances was recorded. Prior to this everything had been performed by live actors and musicians. 1952 marked the beginning of a five year contract, touring the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. International touring became a permanent feature of the company. Of course performances also occurred in Salzburg.
Up until 1971, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre had performed in a variety of different premises in Salzburg. In 1971, the company acquired its very own theatre in the former ballroom of the Mirabell Hotel. Its first production there was Rossini's Barber of Seville. In 1973, the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the company, a film was made about its unique work and theatre.
In 1977, the driving force behind the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, Hermann Aicher died. Artistic control passed into the hands of Gretl Aicher
Gretl Aicher
Gretl Aicher is the Artistic Director of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre.-Background:Gretl Aicher took over the position of Artistic Director of the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre in 1977 on the death of the former director, Hermann Aicher. With her father she has been linked for a...
.
To mark the 70th birthday of Gretl Aicher
Gretl Aicher
Gretl Aicher is the Artistic Director of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre.-Background:Gretl Aicher took over the position of Artistic Director of the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre in 1977 on the death of the former director, Hermann Aicher. With her father she has been linked for a...
and the 85th anniversary of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, a special exhibition of marionettes was opened at the Salzburg Hohensalzburg Fortress. Since that time the company has continued to tour and perform in its own theatre with an ever increasing repertoire of productions featuring not just the works of Mozart, but also many other famous composers such as Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
2007 marked a special year in the history of the company. Bastien and Bastienne
Bastien und Bastienne
Bastien und Bastienne , K. 50 is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart....
was once again performed as well as the premiere of a new production of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, directed by Richard Hamburger. Salzburg of course featured heavily in the film production of the same name made in the early 1960s starring Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
and Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
telling the story of the Von Trapp family singers.
External links
- Salzburg Marionette Theatre homepage of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre (English and German)
- Marionette Theatre - Salzburg Guide