Theatre in Berlin, Germany
The
Schiller Theater
is a theatre building in
Berlin
, Germany. It is located in the central
Charlottenburg
district at Bismarckstraße 110, near
Ernst-Reuter-Platz
.
Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the
Prussian State Theatre
company in the 1920s and 1930s. After post-war rebuilding, it was the main stage of the Berlin State Theatres from 1951, until in 1993, the
City Senate
decided to close it for financial reasons. Since then, it has been rented out for theatre performances and other events, and was used by the
Berlin State Opera
as an interim venue during extensive renovation work from 2010 to 2017.
History
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The Schiller Theater was built from 1905 to 1906 according to plans by the
Munich
architect
Max Littmann
on behalf of Schiller-Theater company and the then-independent city of Charlottenburg. Littmann, founder of the
Heilmann & Littmann
contracting business, had considerable experience in theatre architecture, having designed and built the Munich
Prinzregententheater
and
Kammerspiele
in 1900?1901. The building complex comprised a theatre hall, a multipurpose room, as well as a restaurant. The sculptural decorations were designed by the sculptors Dull and Petzold, and the decoration of the auditorium and the painted curtain is by
Julius Mossel
.
The 1,194-seat theatre was opened on 1 January 1907 with
Die Rauber
by
Friedrich Schiller
, and continued to be run by the
Schiller-Theater-Gesellschaft
with their own theatre company. Established as part of the "People's Theatre" (
Volksbuhne
) movement, the
Slavicist
and intellectual
Raphael Lowenfeld
, founding member of the
Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith
, was the initiator and manager of the original ensemble. He had already inaugurated a
Schiller Theater Ost
in Berlin's Konigstadt quarter in 1894 and a
Schiller Theater Nord
in the
Oranienburger Vorstadt
in 1896. Likewise, the Charlottenburg venue was meant to provide socially marginalised groups with access to stage plays by
Henrik Ibsen
,
Gerhart Hauptmann
, and particularly
Leo Tolstoi
, whose works Lowenfeld himself had translated into German.
After
World War I
, from June 1921, the building was the second venue of the Prussian State Theatre (
Preußisches Staatstheater Berlin
), whose main venue was the present-day
Konzerthaus Berlin
at
Gendarmenmarkt
in the
Mitte
district. After the
Nazi seizure of power
, the
Prussian
prime minister
Hermann Goring
had the Schiller Theater transferred into the possession of the City of Berlin in December 1933.
From 1937 to 1938, the theatre was extensively rebuilt according to plans designed by
Paul Baumgarten
. Baumgarten simplified the facade and the auditorium considerably, changing the appearance of the theatre with respect to the
New Objectivity
of the 1920s, but also in line with the prevailing monumental
Nazi architecture
trend. A special
state box
(
Fuhrerloge
) was installed in the auditorium. The sculptors
Paul Scheurich
and
Karl Nocke
and the painter
Albert Birkle
were involved in the conversion. From the re-opening with Schiller's
Kabale und Liebe
in the presence of
Adolf Hitler
on 15 November 1938, the theatre was run as
Schiller-Theater der Reichshauptstadt Berlin
. The famous actor
Heinrich George
was employed as general director, acting under the pseudonym of
Heinrich Schmitz
. During the
bombing of Berlin in World War II
, the auditorium was destroyed in a
RAF air strike
on the night of 22/23 November 1943. Performances continued on a provisional stage until the theatre finally closed in September 1944.
After the war, the Schiller Theater was rebuilt from 1950 on behalf of the city of
West Berlin
according to plans by the architects
Heinz Volker
and
Rolf Grosse
. Some parts of the ruins of the old theatre were reused for the new construction. The main foyer received a large glass wall and the hallway was adorned with sculptures created by
Bernhard Heiliger
. The reopening was solemnly celebrated by a concert of the
Berlin Philharmonic
orchestra under
Wilhelm Furtwangler
on 5 September 1951, followed by a performance of Schiller's
Wilhelm Tell
the next evening.
The new theatre had 1,067 seats, and served as the
Großes Haus
, the main venue, for the Berlin State Theatres (
Staatlichen Schauspielbuhnen Berlin
), beside the
Schlosspark Theater
in the
Steglitz
district as
Kleines Haus
, the second venue. The State Theatres also used the
Schiller-Theater Werkstatt
in the building of the Schiller Theater (now a second venue of the
Grips-Theater
company), and the
Ballhaus Rixdorf
in Berlin-
Neukolln
as further stages. Under the management of
Boleslaw Barlog
, the Schiller Theater became the leading West Berlin stage, only rivalled by the
Schaubuhne
ensemble around
Peter Stein
from the 1970s onwards. Among the most famous managers of the Berlin State Theatres were
Hans Lietzau
,
Boy Gobert
, and
Heribert Sasse
.
[1]
Notable directors included
Gustaf Grundgens
,
Jurgen Fehling
,
Samuel Beckett
,
Fritz Kortner
,
Boleslaw Barlog
,
Hans Lietzau
,
Karl Paryla
,
[2]
George Tabori
,
Hans Neuenfels
,
Hans Hollmann
, and
Peter Zadek
.
After lengthy discussions, the Schiller Theater was closed on 3 October 1993, three years after
German reunification
, on a decision of the Berlin Senate due to the increasing indebtedness of the city. The last performance of the state theatre was the premiere of the play
Weißalles und Dickedumm
(
Quisaitout et Grobeta
) by
Coline Serreau
, starring
Katharina Thalbach
. All permanently employed staff and artists, including
Bernhard Minetti
,
Erich Schellow
, and
Sabine Sinjen
, were dismissed. The closure of the largest German-speaking stage sparked protest and resentment, and the Senator for Culture at that time,
Ulrich Roloff-Momin
, was given the name "Schiller-Killer".
[3]
It was then used as a venue for musicals and guest theatre performances. From January to October 2000, the
Maxim-Gorki-Theater
used the stage of the Schiller Theater.
Replacement venue for the Staatsoper
[
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When the
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
had to close on 31 May 2010 for renovation, the company and the
Staatskapelle Berlin
were accommodated in the Schiller Theater. Reconstruction work began in June 2010 and was expected to cost 239 million euros. The Staatsoper was expected to stay at the Schiller Theater for three years, but eventually stayed for seven.
[4]
The first opera premiere in the temporary venue took place on 3 October 2010.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Actors
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Actors who have appeared in leading roles in the Schiller Theater include the following:
Notable premieres
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References
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External links
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