Zürich: Opernhaus

Country: Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizera)
Canton: Zürich
City: Zürich
Location: Sechseläutenplatz (Theaterplatz)

Built 1890-1891 as "Stadttheater" by Ferdinand Fellner & Hermann Helmer. After the old 1834 Stadttheater had been destroyed by a fire on 1 Jan 1890, a join-stock company "Theater-Aktiengesellschaft" founded the building of this new theatre, with a communal subsidize of only 10% of the construction costs. Opened 1 Oct 1891 with Rossini's "Guiglielmo Tell". 1936 renovation and extensions. Renamed "Opernhaus" in 1964. In the 1960s, there were plans to destroy the building and build a modern opera house. After years of political struggle it was decided that the old building exterior and the auditorium would be saved, while foyers and the stage parts were largely rebuilt, including the demolishing of the old Esplanade building and the building of a new home for the Bernhard-Theater. After the renovations of 1981-1984 the theatre re-opened on 2 Dec 1984 with Wagner's "Lohengrin". Formerly 1238 seats, today 1100 seats.

Notable world premieres:

  • Ferruccio Busoni: Turandot / Arlecchino (11 May 1917)
  • Othmar Schoeck: Venus (10 May 1922)
  • Robert Stolz: Venus in Seide (10 Dec 1932)
  • Robert Stolz: Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt (30 Sep 1933)
  • Alexander Zemlinsky: Der Kreidekreis (14 Oct 1933)
  • Eduard Künneke: Herz über Bord (30 Mar 1935)
  • Oscar Straus: Drei Walzer (5 Oct 1935)
  • Emmerich Kálmán: Kaiserin Josephine (18 Jan 1936)
  • Alban Berg: Lulu (2 June 1937)
  • Paul Hindemith: Mathis der Maler (28 May 1938)
  • Arthur Honegger: Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (staged, 13 June 1942)
  • Paul Burkhard: Casanova in der Schweiz (1943)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Niobe (22 July 1946)
  • Paul Burkhard: Tic-Tac (29 Mar 1947)
  • Arnold Schönberg: Moses und Aron (staged premiere, 6 June 1957)
  • Bohuslav Martinu: Recké pasije ("The Greek Passion", 2nd version, 9 June 1961)
  • Heinrich Sutermeister: Madame Bovary (26 May 1967)
  • Rudolf Kelterborn: Ein Engel kommt nach Babylon (5 June 1977)
  • Heinz Holliger: Schneewittchen (17 Oct 1998)
  • Heinz Holliger: Lunea (4 Mar 2018)

Links: www.opernhaus.ch, tls.theaterwissenschaft.ch, EUTA, Wikipedia

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Gruss aus Zürich - Das Theater"
Publisher: F. J. W.
Type: Undivided Back
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Mühlhausen im Elsass (then Germany), 1898

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Zürich", "Stadttheater"
Publisher: ?; 4328
Type: Undivided Back
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Genève, 1902

Zurich: Opernhaus Picture: view from Lake Zurich, left: Opernhaus, right: Utoschloss
Front Text: "Zürich - Stadtheater"
Publisher: A. Bergeret & Co., Phototypie, Zürich; No. 26
Type: Undivided Back
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Paris (France), 1904

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Zürich, Stadtthaeter", "Zuschauerraum"
Publisher: ?; 951
Type: Real Photo
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Kiel (Germany), 1908

Zurich: Opernhaus Picture: view from Lake Zurich, left: Opernhaus, right: Utoschloss
Front Text: "Zürich - Theater und Utoschloss"
Publisher: Edition Photoglob Co, Zürich
Type: Divided Back
Size: Classic
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Das Stadttheater in Zürich"
Publisher: Wehrli AG, Kilchberg, Zürich
Type: Divided Back
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Chur, 1924

Zurich: Opernhaus Reverse Text: "Zurich. - Stadttheater"
Publisher: Imp. Rotogravure, Genève, No. 12
Type: Divided Back
Size: Classic
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Zürich, Stadttheater"
Publisher: Photoglog-Wehrli AG, Zürich; 935
Type: Real Photo
Size: Classic
Sent: from Zürich to Berlin, 1963

Zurich: Opernhaus Reverse Text: "Opernhaus Zürich"
Publisher: Foto Ramme; 013794
Type: Real Photo
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus Reverse Text: "Opernhaus Zürich"
Publisher: E.Baumann, Winterthur; 515
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus Reverse Text: "Zürcher Opernhaus, L'Opéra de Zurich, The Opera House"
Publisher: Schweizerischer Bankverein; "Zürichs Zentrum in 12 Zeichnungen"; Nr. 12
Size: Modern
Sent: from Zürich to Dresden (Germany), 1985

Zurich: Opernhaus
Zurich: Opernhaus] Reverse Text: "Bitte nicht vergessen: Am 8. Juni ein JA für Opernhaus und Bernhard-Theater!" [Please do not forget: Vote YES for the Opernhaus and the Bernhard-Theater on June 8!]
Publisher: Kommitee pro Opernhaus
Type: reproduction of an old print on a modern card; advertisement card for an election campaign to save the Opernhaus (see back detail)
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus
Picture: after the 1981-1984 renovations
Reverse Text: "Zürich, Opernhaus"
Publisher: Photoglob, Zürich/Vevey
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus
Picture: Opernhaus after the 1981-1984 renovations with the new Bernhard-Theater
Reverse Text: "Zürich, Opernhaus"
Publisher: Verlag Beringer & Pampaluchi AG, 8064 Zürich
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus
Front Text: "Opernhaus Zürich"
Reverse Text: "Opernhaus Zürich"
Publisher: Advision AG, Nr. 316704
Size: Modern
Not sent.

Zurich: Opernhaus Folded Greeting Card
Publisher: Opernhaus Zürich
Size: 14.8 x 10.5 cm (folded)

Zurich: Opernhaus Folded Greeting Card
Picture: reverse: exterior, front: view from the stage
Publisher: Opernhaus Zürich
Size: 10.5 x 14.8 cm (folded)

Zurich: Opernhaus Front Text: "Wir erkennen Kunst. [...]"
Reverse Text: advertising theatre magazine subscriptions; "Opernhaus Zürich"
Publisher: Der Theaterverlag Friedrich, Berlin (Germany)
Type: Advertisement Card
Size: 10.5 x 21.0 cm
Not sent.

See Bernhard-Theater for another postcard of this theatre.

Permanent link: https://www.andreas-praefcke.de/carthalia/id/216

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