Theater Aachen
Encyclopedia
Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen
, Germany
. It is the principal venue in that city for opera
s, musical theatre
, play
s, and concerts. It is the home of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. Construction on the original theatre began in 1822 and it opened on 15 May 1825. A bomb attack on 14 July 1943 completely destroyed the first theatre, and the current structure was inaugurated on 3 December 1951 with a performance of Richard Wagner
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
.
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, 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...
. It is the principal venue in that city for 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...
s, 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...
, play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
s, and concerts. It is the home of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. Construction on the original theatre began in 1822 and it opened on 15 May 1825. A bomb attack on 14 July 1943 completely destroyed the first theatre, and the current structure was inaugurated on 3 December 1951 with a performance of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
.
Conductors
The conductors of the theatre have also been Generalmusikdirektor of Aachen:- 1920–1935 Peter RaabePeter RaabePeter Raabe was a German composer and conductor. Graduated in the Higher Musical School in Berlin and in the universities of Munich and Jena. In 1894-98 Raabe worked in Königsberg and Zwickau. In 1899-1903 he worked in the Dutch Opera-House . In 1907-20 Raabe was the 1st Court Conductor in Weimar...
- 1935–1942 Herbert von KarajanHerbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
- 1942–1944 Paul van KempenPaul van KempenPaul van Kempen was a Dutch conductor.Van Kempen was born in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands, and later studied at the Amsterdam conservatory from 1910 to 1913, including composition and conducting with Julius Roentgen and Bernard Zweers, as well as violin with Louis Zimmerman...
- 1946–1953 Felix Raabe
- 1953–1958 Wolfgang SawallischWolfgang SawallischWolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
- 1958–1962 Hans Walter Kämpfel
- 1962–1974 Wolfgang Trommer
- 1974–1983 Gabriel Chmura
- 1984–1990 Yoram David
- 1990–1992 Bruce Ferden
- 1993–1996 Yukio Kitahara
- 1997–2002 Elio Boncompagni
- since 2002 Marcus R. Bosch