Theater Dortmund

Geschichte

Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany opened in 1966 and operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. This opera house replaces an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War I.Architects Heinrich Rosskotten and Edgar Tritthart designed the modernist structure. The design separates the functions of the stage and technical areas in the Bühnenhaus (stage house), which is dominated by straight lines, from the auditorium under a thin-shell structure roof.Opening seasonThe new house opened on 3 March 1966, to serve as a venue for operas, ballets, concerts, and for plays which require a large stage. The inaugural performance was Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, an opera first performed in 1911, shortly after its premiere; Wilhelm Schüchter conducted the Dortmunder Philharmoniker. Teresa Żylis-Gara appeared as Octavian, along with guest artist Elisabeth Grümmer as the Marschallin and Kurt Böhme as Ochs. In the short remaining part of the season, Verdi's Il trovatore, with Fedora Barbieri as Azucena, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, and Johann Strauss' Der Zigeunerbaron were performed.