MUNICH NATIONAL THEATRE

Description

Essentials about the Munich National Theatre in brief

Opera lovers should definitely try to get a ticket for a performance at the National Theater when visiting Munich. Built in the classical style of a Greek temple, the theater is one of the most beautiful of its kind and is one of the most important opera houses in Germany. The National Theater is home to the ensembles of the Bavarian State Opera and the Bavarian State Ballet.

The history of the Munich National Theatre

Today’s National Theater on Max-Joseph-Platz already had two predecessors elsewhere, whose history goes back to the 17th century. In 1651, under Elector Ferdinand Maria, the Electoral Opera House was built on Salvatorplatz, which was also opened to the public. In the middle of the 18th century, the Old Residence Theater was rebuilt, where the Munich court had mainly Italian operas performed. Thus, Mozart’s Idomeneo was premiered here in 1781. The Residenztheater soon proved too small for a large audience, and when the house on Salvatorplatz had to be closed in 1795, there was a call for a new “opera house for all”.

This demand was met by King Maximilian I Joseph in 1810, when he commissioned the architect Karl von Fischer to plan the new Royal Court and National Theater. Construction began in late 1811, but it would take seven years for the theater to be completed. It opened on October 12, 1818, with the first performance of Ferdinand Fränzl’s opera Die Weihe.

In January 1823, a major fire destroyed the theater down to its foundation walls. During an opera performance, the decoration caught fire and because the extinguishing water had been forced in, nothing could be done about the fire. The National Theater was rebuilt in its original form, with the addition of a portico, which had not been realized during the first construction. The building was reopened on January 2, 1825.

During the reign of King Ludwig II, an ardent admirer of Richard Wagner, the Wagner operas Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were premiered in the National Theater.

In October 1943, the theater was badly hit by an air raid and destroyed except for the surrounding walls. After the war, the decision was made not to build a new theater at a lower cost, but to reconstruct the old one. On November 21, 1963, the reopening was celebrated with a performance of the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss.

The architecture of the Munich National Theatre

The National Theater is considered one of the main works of European classicism. With its row of Corinthian columns, it is reminiscent of a Greek temple. The interior design of the theater is in glittering red, gold and ivory and ivory. The decoration of the auditorium is the work of the French-German architect Jean Baptiste Métivier in the late Empire style. The magnificent royal box forms the center of the 2,100-seat indoor auditorium. With a stage area of 2,500 square meters, the Munich National Theater is the world’s third largest opera stage after the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. If you don’t manage to get a ticket for one of the performances, you can still see the National Theater on a guided tour.