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Margravial Opera House

Coordinates:49°56′40″N11°34′43″E/ 49.94444°N 11.57861°E/49.94444; 11.57861
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Margravial Opera House
The Margravial Opera House in 2013
Map
LocationBayreuth,Bavaria,Germany
Coordinates49°56′40″N11°34′43″E/ 49.94444°N 11.57861°E/49.94444; 11.57861
TypeOpera house
Construction
Built1744–1748
Architect
Official nameMargravial Opera House Bayreuth
CriteriaCultural: (i), (iv)
Reference1379
Inscription2012 (36thSession)
Area0.19 ha (0.47 acres)
Buffer zone4.22 ha (10.4 acres)

TheMargravial Opera House(German:Markgräfliches Opernhaus) is aBaroqueopera housein the town ofBayreuth,Germany.Built between 1745 and 1750, it is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored.[1]On 30 June 2012, the opera house was added to theUNESCOWorld Heritage Listbecause of its exceptional Baroque architecture.[2]

Description[edit]

Located in a widened part of the street so that carriages could pull up in front, the opera house is 71.5 meters long, 31 meters wide, and 26 meters tall.[3]The building was constructed according to plans designed by theFrencharchitectJoseph Saint-Pierre[de](ca. 1709 – 1754), court builder of theHohenzollernmargraveFrederick of Brandenburg-Bayreuthand his wife PrincessWilhelmine of Prussia.[2]The sandstone façade was designed to blend with the surrounding buildings and to reference thePlace Vendômein Paris, with largeCorinthiancolumns. A balustrade stretched across the entire façade, with sculptures ofMinerva,Apollo,and 6Musesplaced atop.[3]

Interior, looking up at the Court Loge

The wooden interior was designed byGiuseppe Galli Bibiena(1696–1757)[4]and his son Carlo fromBolognain anItalianLate Baroque style. The auditorium was built in a bell shape and can seat roughly 500 people.[2]Intricately covered in gold accents, with atrompe-l'œilceiling, the interior may have attempted to imitate precious stones like lapis lazuli.[3]Some areas of the interior are covered with painted canvas in order to avoid cracks and improve acoustics.[3]

The CourtLogebuilt for theMargraveis located opposite the stage, taking up all three box stories. It is highly ornamented with symbols of theHouse of Brandenburgand is completely preserved in its original condition, except for the curtain which was taken byNapoleon's troops on their march to the 1812Russian campaign.[3]However, The Court Loge was seldom used by the art-minded margravial couple, who preferred a front-row seat.

History[edit]

The Bayreuth Opera House was inaugurated on the occasion of the marriage of their daughterElisabeth Fredericka Sophiewith DukeCharles Eugene of Württemberg.Princess Wilhelmine, older sister of thePrussiankingFrederick the Great,had established the margravial theatre company in 1737. In the new opera house she participated as a composer ofoperaworks andSingspiele,as well as an actor and director.[5]Today she features in a sound-and-light presentation for tourists. After her death in 1758, performances ceased and the building went into disuse, one reason for its good conservation status.

More than one hundred years later, the stage's great depth of 27 metres (89 ft)[6]attracted the composerRichard Wagner,who in 1872 chose Bayreuth as festival centre and had theFestspielhausbuilt north of the town. The foundation stone ceremony was held on 22 May, Wagner's birthday, and included a performance ofBeethoven'sSymphony No. 9,directed by the maestro.

Parts of the 1994 biopicFarinelliwere filmed in the Opera House. The theatre was the site of the annualBayreuther Osterfestivaluntil 2009. Each September from the year 2000 to 2009, the theatre also hosted the Bayreuth Baroque festival, with performances of early operatic rarities. The 2009 festival included performances ofAndrea Bernasconi'sfesta teatrale,L'Huomo,to a libretto by theMargravine Wilhelmine.Bayreuth Baroque was revived in 2020.[7]

The theatre closed on October 2012 for extensive refurbishment and redevelopment and reopened on 12 April 2018.[6][8][9]

References[edit]

  1. ^Goldmann, A. J., Inch by Inch, an Operatic Jewel Is Polished,The New York Times, 16 April 2018, photographs by Gordon Welters
  2. ^abc"Margravial Opera House Bayreuth".UNESCO.Retrieved10 September2022.
  3. ^abcdeMargravial Opera House Bayreuth – Outstanding monument of baroque theatre culture(PDF)(Report). The Bavarian Department for State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes. December 2009.Retrieved10 September2022.
  4. ^"Margravial Opera House Bayreuth – World Heritage Site – Pictures, info and travel reports".worldheritagesite.org.Retrieved6 November2017.
  5. ^Kotnik, Vlado (6 July 2017)."The Adaptability of Opera: When Different Social Agents Come to Common Ground"(PDF).sfopera.
  6. ^ab"UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe Markgräfliches Opernhaus"[UNESCO World Heritage Site: Margravial Opera House] (in German). City of Bayreuth: Tourism, Culture and Leisure.Retrieved22 January2016.
  7. ^Berg, Karl Georg (24 September 2020)."Erfolgreiche Premiere des neuen Festivals Bayreuth Baroque".Die Rheinpfalz(in German). Ludwigshafen.Retrieved8 October2022.
  8. ^Brug, Manuel (14 April 2018)."Bayreuth hat seinen schönsten Kulturtempel zurück".Die Welt(in German).Retrieved16 April2018.
  9. ^"Markgräfliches Opernhaus Bayreuth in neuem Glanz wiedereröffnet".Deutsche Welle(in German). 12 April 2018.Retrieved16 April2018.

External links[edit]

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