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Information about Theater An Der Wien

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Theater an der Wien (Papageno gate in Millöckergasse)
The Theater an der Wien (The Theatre on the Wien River) is a historic theatre in Vienna, originally designed in the Empire style. It was created by the Viennese theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, who is best known as Mozart's librettist and collaborator on the opera Die Zauberflöte which premiered in 1791. The theatre opened on 13 June 1801 with a prologue written by Schikaneder, followed by a performance of the opera "Alexander" by Alexander Teyber.

Although "Wien" is German for "Vienna", the "Wien" in the name of the theater is actually the name of the Wien River (Wienfluss), which once flowed by the theater site; "an der Wien" means "on the banks of the Wien". Today the river is covered over in this location, and the spot houses the Naschmarkt, an open-air market.

Schikaneder had been granted an imperial licence in 1786 to build a new theatre, but it was only in 1798 that he felt ready to act on this authorization. The building was designed by the architect Franz Jäger and construction was completed in 1801. It has been described as "the most lavishly equipped and one of the largest theatres of its age."[1].
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Theater an der Wien, 1815
Only a part of the original building is preserved: the "Papageno gate" is a memorial to Schikaneder, who is depicted playing the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute, a role he wrote for himself to perform. He is shown with his three children, playing the Three Boys in the same opera.

Premieres at the theatre

As a prominent theatre in an artistically vital city, the Theater an der Wien has been the location for the premieres of many works of theatre and music that endure to this day, among them:

Years of decline and post-War revival

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Theater an der Wien (former, Broadway style entrance wing; demolished in 2005)
The theatre experienced a golden age during the flourishing of Viennese operetta, and from 1945 to 1955, it was one of the temporary homes of the Vienna State Opera, whose own building had been destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II.

In 1955, the Theater an der Wien was closed for safety reasons. It languished unused for several years, and by the early 1960s, the threat had emerged that it would be converted to a parking garage (this was the same era of "urban renewal" that in America nearly destroyed Carnegie Hall).

Fortunately, in 1962 the theater found a new and successful role for itself as a venue for contemporary musical theater. Many English-language musicals have had their German premieres there. In 1992, the musical Elisabeth (about Franz Joseph I of Austria's wife, aka Sissi), premiered there. The musical Cats played for seven years.
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Entrance wing towards Naschmarkt, redesigned in 2006

Revival as a full time opera house

In the Mozart bicentenial year, the Theater an der Wien presented a series of major Mozart operas and it has since become a full-time venue for opera and other forms of classical music under the direction of Roland Geyer. The first opera to be given was Mozart's Idomeneo.

Geyer is quoted as saying that he wishes to "present cutting edge directors and interesting productions" [2], and his three main areas of focus will be on Baroque opera, contemporary opera, and Mozart.

References

1. ^ "Emanuel Schikaneder" in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians
2. ^ Anne Midgette, "In Mozart's Backyard, A Fraught Rebirth of an Opera House", New York Times, 26 November 2006

External links

Coordinates:
Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) (from French "théâtre", from Greek "theatron", θέατρον, meaning "place of seeing") is the branch of the performing arts defined as simply as what "occurs when one or more
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Vienna (German: Wien [viːn], see also ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city; with a population of about 1.
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Empire Style, sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts.
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Emanuel Schikaneder (Straubing, September 1, 1751 – September 21, 1812, Vienna), born Johann Joseph Schikaneder, was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, and singer.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (IPA: [ˈvɔlfgaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsart], baptized Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
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libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass and requiem.
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The Magic Flute (German Die Zauberflöte, K. 620) is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.
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Origin Wienerwaldsee (a lake)
Mouth Danube in Vienna
Basin countries Austria
Length 34 km (21 mi)
Source elevation 520 m (1,706 ft)

Basin area 230 km² (89 mi²)

The Wien
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Naschmarkt is Vienna's most popular market. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River it is about 1,5 kilometers long.

The Naschmarkt has existed since the 16th century when mainly milk bottles were sold ("Asch", for milk bottles led to the name "Aschenmarkt").
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Ludwig van Beethoven (English IPA: /ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən/; German IPA:
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Fidelio (Op. 72) is an opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly.
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D Major, (Op. 36) was written between 1801 and 1802 and is dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky.

Background

Beethoven's Second Symphony was mostly written during Beethoven's stay at Heiligenstadt in 1802, which was near the time
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The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55) by Ludwig van Beethoven (known as the Eroica, Italian for "heroic") is a work sometimes cited as marking the beginning of musical Romanticism and the end of the Classical Era.
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.

The work was premiered on December 23, 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, who had earlier
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Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 was written in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European classical music, and one of the most often-played symphonies.
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major (Op. 68), known as the Pastoral Symphony, was completed in the year 1808. One of Beethoven's few works of program music, the symphony was labeled at its first performance with the title "Recollections of Country Life".
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The Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, op. 80, was composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Background, composition, and reception

Beethoven conceived the Choral Fantasy as a finale for a concert at the Theater an der Wien on December 22, 1808,
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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.

The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of a flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns,
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Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 was written in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European classical music, and one of the most often-played symphonies.
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Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (January 15, 1791 – January 21, 1872), an Austrian dramatic poet, was born in Vienna.

Early life

His father, severe, pedantic, and a staunch upholder of the liberal traditions of the reign of Joseph II, was an advocate of some standing;
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