Bavarian State Opera

National Theatre Munich exterior

National Theatre Munich interior

The Bavarian State Opera (German: Bayerische Staatsoper) is an opera company based in Munich, Germany. Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.

History

The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653. In 1753 the Residence Theatre was opened as major stage. While opera performances were also held in the Prinzregententheater (completed in 1901), the company's home base is the National Theatre Munich on Max-Joseph-Platz.

In 1875 the Munich Opera Festival took place for the first time which nowadays can be viewed as one of the most important opera festivals worldwide.

Sir Peter Jonas became the Staatsoper Staatsintendant (General Director) in 1993, the first British Intendant of any major German speaking Opera House. Since 1998 Zubin Mehta served as music director of the Bavarian State Opera and Bavarian State Orchestra. He was succeeded by Kent Nagano in 2006. In 2008 Klaus Bachler became General Director of the opera company.

Opera general directors

1867–1893 Karl von Perfall 1895–1906 Ernst von Possart 1907–1912 Freiherr von Speidel 1912–1918 Clemens von Franckenstein 1918–1924 Karl Zeiss 1924–1934 Clemens von Franckenstein 1934–1935 Hans Knappertsbusch 1935–1937 Oskar Walleck 1937–1940 Clemens Krauss 1945–1952 Georg Hartmann 1952–1967 Rudolf Hartmann 1967–1976 Günther Rennert 1977–1982 August Everding 1982–1993 Wolfgang Sawallisch 1993–2006 Peter Jonas 2006–2008 Kent Nagano 2008–present Klaus Bachler

General Music Directors

1836–1867 Franz Lachner 1867–1869 Hans von Bülow 1870–1877 Franz Wüllner 1872–1896 Hermann Levi 1894–1896 Richard Strauss 1896–1898 Max Erdmannsdörfer 1898–1902 Bernhard Stavenhagen 1901–1903 Hermann Zumpe 1904–1911 Felix Mottl 1913–1922 Bruno Walter 1922–1935 Hans Knappertsbusch 1937–1944 Clemens Krauss

1945 Hans Knappertsbusch 1946–1952 Georg Solti 1952–1954 Rudolf Kempe 1956–1958 Ferenc Fricsay 1959–1968 Joseph Keilberth 1971–1992 Wolfgang Sawallisch 1992–1998 Peter Schneider, interim 1998–2006 Zubin Mehta 2006–present Kent Nagano

Famous World Premieres

• 2 October 1753, Catone in Utica by Giovanni Battista Ferrandini and Metastasio (Residence Theater)
• 13 January 1775, La finta giardiniera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Petrosellini(?) (Residence Theater)
• 29 January 1781, Idomeneo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giambattista Varesco (Residence Theater)
• 1 February 1782, Semiramide by Antonio Salieri and Metastasio (Residence Theater)
• 27 January 1807, Iphigenie in Aulis by Franz Danzi and Karl Reger (Residence Theater)
• 4 June 1811, Abu Hassan by Carl Maria von Weber and Franz Carl Hiemer (Residence Theater)
• 23 December 1812, Jephthas Gelübde by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Aloys Schreiber (Residence Theater)
• 9 November 1817, Teolinde by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Residence Theater)
• 7 October 1849, Benvenuto Cellini by Franz Lachner, Henri-Auguste Barbier and Léon de Wailly (German by: ?)
• 10 June 1865, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner
• 21 June 1868, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
• 22 September 1869, Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner
• 26 June 1870, Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
• 29 June 1888, Die Feen by Richard Wagner
• 23 January 1897, Königskinder (Melodrama edition) by Engelbert Humperdinck and Elsa Bernstein
• 10 October 1897, Sarema by Alexander von Zemlinsky, Adolf von Zemlinszky and Arnold Schoenberg
• 22 January 1899, Der Bärenhäuter by Siegfried Wagner
• 27 November 1903, Le donne curiose by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Luigi Sugana (German by Hermann Teibler) (Residence Theater)
• 19 March 1906, I quattro rusteghi (Die vier Grobiane) by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Giuseppe Pizzolato (German by Hermann Teibler)
• 11 December 1906, Das Christelflein by Hans Pfitzner and Ilse von Stach
• 4 December 1909, Il segreto di Susanna (Susannens Geheimnis) by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Enrico Golisciani (German by Max Kalbeck)
• 28 March 1916, Der Ring des Polykrates by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Leo Feld and Julyus Korngold and; Violanta by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Julyus Korngold
• 12 June 1917, Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner (Prinzregententheater)
• 30 November 1920, Die Vögel by Walter Braunfels (by Aristophanes)
• 15 November 1924, Don Gil von den grünen Hosen by Walter Braunfels (by Tirso de Molina)
• 12 November 1931, Das Herz by Hans Pfitzner and Hans Mahner-Mons
• 24 July 1938, Friedenstag by Richard Strauss, Joseph Gregor and Stefan Zweig
• 5 February 1939, Der Mond by Carl Orff
• 28 October 1942, Capriccio by Richard Strauss and Clemens Krauss
• 29 March 1956, Don Juan de Manara by Henri Tomasi (Prinzregententheater)
• 11 August 1957, Die Harmonie der Welt by Paul Hindemith
• 27 November 1963, Die Verlobung in San Domingo by Werner Egk (by Heinrich von Kleist)
• 1 August 1972, Sim Tjong by Yun I-sang and Harald Kunz
• 9 July 1978, Lear by Aribert Reimann and Claus H. Henneberg
• 10 May 1981, Lou Salomé by Giuseppe Sinopoli and Karl Dietrich Gräwe
• 22 July 1985 Le Roi Bérenger (König Bérenger I.) by Heinrich Sutermeister (by Eugène Ionesco)
• 8 November 1985, Night by Lorenzo Ferrero and Peter Wehran (by Novalis)
• 25 January 1986, Belshazar by Volker David Kirchner and Harald Weirich
• 7 July 1986, Troades by Aribert Reimann and Gerd Albrecht (by Euripides and Franz Werfel)
• 6 July 1991, Ubu Rex by Krzysztof Penderecki (by Alfred Jarry)
• 1 July 1996, Schlachhof 5 by Hans-Jürgen von Bose (by Kurt Vonnegut)
• 24 May 1998, Was ihr wollt by Manfred Trojahn and Claus H. Henneberg
• 28 June 2000, KANON für geschlossene Gesellschaft by Ruedi Häusermann (Cuvilliéstheater)
• 30 October 2000, Bernarda Albas Haus by Aribert Reimann (by Federico García Lorca)
• 27 June 2002, K.Projekt 12 / 14 by Hans-Jürgen von Bose (by Franz Kafka) (Cuvilliéstheater)
• 17 July 2003, Das Gesicht im Spiegel by Jörg Widmann and Roland Schimmelpfennig (Cuvilliéstheater)
• 27 October 2006, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Botho Strauß
• 30 June 2007, Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin and David Henry Hwang

External links

• Bayerische Staatsoper official website
• Bayerisches Staatsorchester history (German)
• Bayerisches Staatsorchester at the Bach Cantatas Website