Stadttheater Minden is a municipal theatre in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The theatre has no ensemble, but stages some productions of its own. It became known for a Wagner project culminating in Der Ring in Minden.
History The building was erected from 1906 to 1908 in Baroque Revival style, on a design by the architects August Kersten (Minden) and (Berlin). It seats 568 people. The theatre was opened on 1 October 1908 with a performance of Goethe's play Iphigenie auf Tauris.
The theatre has no ensemble, but stages some productions of its own. It is also used by guest ensembles and touring theatre groups, and serves as a concert hall for symphony concert series of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and for other events.
In September 1998, to mark the 1200th anniversary of the town, the chamber opera Friedrich und Katte by Wolfgang Knuth (born 1959) was composed and premiered at the theatre.
In 1999, a project to show operas by Richard Wagner was begun by the Richard-Wagner-Verband Minden, the theatre and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.Udo Stephan Köhne: Jubiläumsmagazin des Stadttheater Minden 2008/2009 The first work presented was in 2002 Der fliegende Holländer, followed by Tannhäuser in 2005, staged by Keith Warner and conducted by Frank Beermann. Lohengrin was performed in 2009. The project of 2012 was Tristan und Isolde, staged by Matthias von Stegmann; Beermann conducted, with the title roles performed by Andreas Schager and Dara Hobbs. A production of Der Ring des Nibelungen opened in 2015 with Das Rheingold, followed a year later by Die Walküre. The Wagner project has received international recognition.
In 2014 the theatre began a professional project for young people (Jugendtheaterprojekt) with Romeo und Julia – Out With Love based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespeare-year 2014. In a joint venture with the school Kurt-Tucholsky-Gesamtschule, the intendant Andrea Krauledat and the theatre pedagogue Viola Schneider staged the production, performed in the theatre hall. The following season, the project was continued by Schiller's Die Räuber in collaboration with the Ratsgymnasium Minden, again directed by Krauledat and Schneider, and Moritz Rinke's Die Nibelungen, in collaboration with the youth club t3.
Wagner project Beginning in 2002, stage works by Wagner were produced at the theatre, initiated by Jutta Hering-Winckler, president of the local Richard Wagner Society. The orchestra was the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, conducted by Frank Beermann. The performances were reviewed internationally. Reviews by Eleonore Büning in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) compared the productions favourably with those of the Bayreuth Festival and noted that singers make their way to Bayreuth from Minden.
+ Minden Wagner project Date Title Stage director Singers Press 2002 Der fliegende Holländer Holger Müller-Brandes DF NW 2005 Tannhäuser Keith Warner John Pierce (Tannhäuser)Anne Schwanewilms (Elisabeth) DF 2009 Lohengrin John Dew John Pierce (Lohengrin) (Elsa) ON 2012 Tristan und Isolde Matthias von Stegmann Andreas Schager and Dara Hobbs FAZ 2023 Parsifal Eric Vigié 2012 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Jakob Peters-Messer Simon Bailey (Sachs) nmz
Der Ring in Minden
From 2015, the same team staged a yearly production of the four parts of Der Ring des Nibelungen, presenting the complete cycle twice in 2019. + Der Ring in Minden Date Title Stage director Singers Press 2015 Das Rheingold Gerd Heinz Heiko Trinsinger (Alberich), Renatus Mészár (Wotan), Kathrin Göring (Fricka), Julia Bauer (Freia), Thomas Mohr (Loge), Tijl Faveyts (Fasolt) OMM 2016 Die Walküre Gerd Heinz Mohr (Siegmund), Hobbs (Brünnhilde), Faveyts (Hunding), Mészár (Wotan), Göring (Fricka, Waltraute), FAZ 2017 Siegfried Gerd Heinz Jeff Martin (Mime), Mohr (Siegfried), Mészár (Wanderer), Janina Baechle (Erda), Hobbs (Brünnhilde) Merker 2018 Götterdämmerung Gerd Heinz Mohr (Siegfried), Hobbs (Brünnhilde), Mészár (Gunter), Andreas Hörl (Hagen), Göring (Waltraute) NMZ 2019 Der Ring des Nibelungen Gerd Heinz
References
External links
Die Nibelungen / von Moritz Rinke (program book) Stadttheater Minden