Theater Basel

Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas.

Theater Basel
founded as Basler Stadttheater
AddressBasel
Switzerland
OwnerCity government of Basel, Switzerland
TypeMunicipal
Construction
Opened1834 (first building (as Basler Stadttheater))
1875 (second building)
1909 (third building)
1975 (fourth building)
Demolished7 October 1904 (2nd building destroyed by fire)
Years activesince 1834
ArchitectMelchior Berri (first building)
Johann Jakob Stehlin der Jüngere (second building)
Tenants
Opera and ballet companies (among other uses)
Website
www.theater-basel.ch

Because the theatre does not have its own orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra is usually contracted to perform for opera and ballet productions as needed. For baroque-opera productions, La Cetra, the baroque orchestra of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, is engaged.

History
Theater Basel's second theatre which was destroyed by fire in 1904 (postcard from 1904).

Theater Basel was founded in 1834 under the name Basler Stadttheater. The first theatre was designed by Swiss architect Melchior Berri.

In 1873 work on a new theatre began which was designed by Johann Jakob Stehlin Jr.. This second theatre opened in 1875 and was used until it was destroyed by fire on October 7, 1904.

Plans for a third theatre were soon made, but it was five years before the theatre finally opened in 1909. The fourth theatre opened in 1975.

In October 2018, the company announced the appointment of Kristiina Poska as its next General Music Director (GMD; Generalmusikdirektorin), effective with the 2019-2020 season.[1]

Intendants
  • Leo Melitz (1899–1919)
  • Ernst Lert (1919–1920)
  • Otto Henning (1921–1925)
  • Oskar Wälterlin (1925–1932)
  • Egon Neudegg (1932–1949)
  • Gottfried Becker, Kurt Horowitz, Hans Thudium (1949–1950; joint directors)
  • Friedrich Schramm (1950–1953)
  • Albert Wiesner (1953–1954)
  • Hermann Wedekind (1954–1960)
  • Werner Düggelin (1968–1975)
  • Hans Hollmann (1975–1978)
  • Horst Statkus (1978–1988)
  • Frank Baumbauer (1988–1993)
  • Wolfgang Zörner (1993–1994)
  • Hans Peter Doll (1994–1996)
  • Michael Schindhelm (1996–2006)
  • Georges Delnon (2006–2015)
  • Andreas Beck (2015–present)

References
  1. "Kristiina Poska wird Musikdirektorin am Theater Basel". Basler Zeitung. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2018-10-16.

Further reading

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