The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt.

Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's Der ferne Klang in 1912, Fennimore und Gerda by Frederick Delius in 1919, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in 1937. Frankfurt's international recognition began in the Gielen era (1977–1987), when Michael Gielen and stage directors such as Ruth Berghaus collaborated.

A historic opera house from 1880 was destroyed in World War II, and rebuild as a concert hall, the Alte Oper. The present opera house, built in 1963, is under one roof with the stage for drama. The opera orchestra is called Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester. Today's venue for Baroque and contemporary opera is the Bockenheimer Depot, a former tram depot.

Oper Frankfurt has been voted 'Opera House of the Year' by Opernwelt several times since 1996, including 2020, 2022 and 2023, Oper Frankfurt is part of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. It received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2013 International Opera Awards.

History Early history Frankfurt's first opera was Johann Theile's Adam und Eva, performed in 1698 by Johann Velten's touring company. The first operas Goethe experienced in his hometown of Frankfurt were productions by Theobald Marchand's company.F. M. Stockdale, M. R. Dreyer The Opera Guide 1990 342

1782 – 1880

Opened in 1782, the Comoedienhaus was the first permanent venue of the Frankfurt Theater (drama and opera). In 1878 German violinist Willy Hess took up the leadership of the Oper Frankfurt. He resigned from that post in 1886 to take up a professorship in the Rotterdam Conservatorium voor Muziek.

1880 – 1944

The first representative opera house of the city was inaugurated in Frankfurt in 1880 at Opernplatz. Under the direction of the first Intendant and the first Kapellmeister Felix Otto Dessoff, the house was opened with Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.

During the 1920s, the opera in Frankfurt had more prominent Jewish singers than any other company in Germany, including the tenor Hermann Schramm, bass Hans Erl (the first King in Schreker's Der Schatzgräber), baritone Richard Breitenfeld and contralto Magda Spiegel, who also toured with Frankfurt Opera performing Wagner in the Netherlands. These singers were forced to leave the opera in June 1933. Orff's Carmina Burana was premiered at Oper Frankfurt in 1937. Jewish members of the opera company among those rounded up on 9 November 1938 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, where Erl sang In diesen Heil'gen Hallen, from the Magic Flute for the deportees. Members of Frankfurt Opera were sent to Auschwitz and other camps where they perished.

1945 – 1970s

The opera house was damaged in an air raid in January 1944, and then almost completely destroyed in March.Die Frankfurter "Alte Oper": Baumonographie eines Opernhauses Christiane Wolf Di Cecca – 1997 p225 "Das Frankfurter Opernhaus erfährt am 29. Januar 1944 durch einen Luftangriff zunächst eine leichte, schließlich in der Nacht zum 23. März 1944 eine schwere Beschädigung. Nach dem Krieg fehlt vor allem zunächst das Geld für Abriß und ..." In 1952, Georg Solti became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) and Intendant of the Oper Frankfurt, where he remained in charge for nine years. He worked together with general manager (Generalintendant) Harry Buckwitz. The ensemble was invited to guest performances at the Théâtre des Nations in Paris.

A new house for opera and drama was built, completed in 1963 at the Theaterplatz (now Willy-Brandt-Platz).

The Gielen era From 1977 to 1987, Frankfurt Opera was led by Michael Gielen.Richard Wagner, Fritz Lang, and the Nibelungen ix David J. Levin – 1999 "For a decade, 1978 to 1988, Frankfurt Opera under Michael Gielen was such a place. ' He hired some of the most interesting and innovative production teams — stage directors as well as set and costume designers ..." This decade became known as the "Gielen era", notable for the music of a conductor who was also a composer, and directors including Ruth Berghaus and Hans Neuenfels, whose productions of standard works such as Verdi's Aida and Wagner's Ring Cycle were thought-provoking. Operas which received their world premieres at the house were also performed again, including Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten.

1987 – present

The stage of the opera house was destroyed by a fire in November 1987. The opera house was rebuilt and opened in April 1991. Many famous singers started their career with the company, including Franz Völker, Edda Moser, Cheryl Studer, and Diana Damrau, and many established artists have been engaged there in recent seasons including Christian Gerhaher, whose roles here have included Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and his first Wolfram in Wagner's Tannhäuser, Piotr Beczała in Massenet's Werther and Jan-Hendrik Rootering in Wagner's Parsifal.

Since 2002, Bernd Loebe has served as Intendant of the company. The company's current GMD is Thomas Guggeis, succeeding Sebastian Weigle, who held this position since 2008 until the end of the 2023–24 season. Weigle has made commercial recordings of opera with the company for the OEHMS Classics label.

Oper Frankfurt was voted "Opera House of the Year" by the magazine Opernwelt in 1996, 2003, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2023, they were distinguished also in the categories Chorus, directed by Tilman Michael, world premiere (for Blühen), and rediscovery (for Die ersten Menschen). The company received the distinction again in 2024, with recognition also in the categories Chorus and Production (shared) for Wagner's Tannhäuser, conducted by Guggeis and directed by Matthew Wild. Director of the year was Lydia Steier, including for her Frankfurt production of Verdi's Aida, and singer of the year John Osborn, including for his Frankfurt portrayal of Éléazar in Halevy's La Juive.

, new buildings for the Städtische Bühnen are planned.

Artistic leadership The first conductors had the title Kapellmeister. From 1924, the title was GMD, who often also held the administrative leadership Intendant (Int.).

Felix Otto Dessoff (1880–1892, Kapellmeister) Ludwig Rottenberg (1893–1924, Kapellmeister) Clemens Krauss (1924–1929, GMD) Hans Wilhelm Steinberg (1929–1933) (1933–1934) Karl Maria Zwißler (1935–1936) Georg Ludwig Jochum (1937–1938) Franz Konwitschny (1938–1944, GMD) (1945–1951, GMD) Georg Solti (1952–1961, GMD) Lovro von Matačić (1961–1966, GMD) Christoph von Dohnányi (1967–1977, GMD) Michael Gielen (1977–1987, GMD & Int.) Gary Bertini (1987–1991, GMD & Int.) Sylvain Cambreling (1993–1997, GMD & artistic Int.) (1997–2002, Int.) Paolo Carignani (1999–2008, GMD) Bernd Loebe (2002–present, Int.) Sebastian Weigle (2008–2023, GMD) Thomas Guggeis (2023–present, GMD)

Premieres World premieres at the Frankfurt Opera have included:

Date Work Composer 16 September 1810 Silvana Carl Maria von Weber 4 April 1819 Zemire und Azor Louis Spohr 20 January 1851 Die Opernprobe Albert Lortzing 26 November 1853 Rübezahl Friedrich von Flotow 8 December 1881 Das Käthchen von Heilbronn Carl Martin Reinthaler 12 November 1902 Dornröschen Engelbert Humperdinck 18 August 1912 Der ferne Klang Franz Schreker 15 March 1913 Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin Franz Schreker 25 April 1918 Die Gezeichneten Franz Schreker 21 October 1919 Fennimore und Gerda Frederick Delius 21 January 1920 Der Schatzgräber Franz Schreker 1 July 1920 Die ersten Menschen Rudi Stephan 14 May 1921 Die Prinzessin Girnara Egon Wellesz 26 March 1922 Sancta Susanna Paul Hindemith 9 July 1924 Der Sprung über den Schatten Ernst Krenek 8 November 1924 Sakahra Simon Bucharoff 25 February 1926 Die zehn Küsse Bernhard Sekles 14 November 1926 Der Golem Eugen d'Albert 25 December 1926 Die Lästerschule Paul von Klenau 1 February 1930 Von heute auf morgen Arnold Schönberg 23 March 1930 Achtung, Aufnahme!! Wilhelm Grosz 25 May 1930 Transatlantic George Antheil 31 January 1934 Prinz Eugen der edle Ritter Max Pflugmacher 22 May 1935 Die Zaubergeige Werner Egk 26 May 1936 Doktor Johannes Faust Hermann Reutter 8 June 1937 Carmina Burana Carl Orff 13 January 1942 Columbus Werner Egk 7 September 1942 Odysseus Hermann Reutter 20 February 1943 Die Kluge Carl Orff 1 March 1962 Die Alkestiade Louise Talma 24 September 1964 Dame Kobold Gerhard Wimberger 15 June 1986 Stephen Climax Hans Zender 14 November 1986 Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde Hans-Joachim Hespos 12 December 1987 Europeras 1 & 2 John Cage 18 May 1989 What Where Heinz Holliger 14 June 2002 Dr. Popels fiese Falle Moritz Eggert 7 October 2006 Caligula Detlev Glanert 29 June 2014 Der goldene Drache Péter Eötvös 14 September 2014 Sirenen – Bilder des Begehrens und des Vernichtens Rolf Riehm 31 May 2015 An unserem Fluss (By our River) Lior Navok 12 November 2017 Der Mieter Arnulf Herrmann 27 June 2021 Inferno Lucia Ronchetti 23 January 2023 Blühen Vito Žuraj

Städtische Bühnen

Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) and Schauspiel Frankfurt (Theatre Frankfurt) are part of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main GmbH.

Statistics The opera house has 1,369 seats. , the capacity utilization of the Oper Frankfurt in the 2022/23 season was 81%. About 11 premieres and 15 revivals were shown per season.

See also Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Bockenheimer Depot Schauspiel Frankfurt

References

Further reading

External links