Stadttheater Königsberg
For over 200 years, the Stadttheater Königsberg (Königsberg municipal theatre) in Königsberg was one of the most respected theatres in Prussia and in the German Empire. History. Forerunner. The Königsberg theatre began with carnival games and school comedies at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1552, "Conquest of Rome" by Georg Sabinus was performed in the courtyard, and in 1573 "The Fall of Man" by the schoolmaster Roll. In 1605, Marie Eleonore of Cleves had English comedians perform for her in Königsberg Castle. In 1618, they played Shakespeare. The first opera, "Cleomedes" by Heinrich Albert, was performed  by students in 1635 before Władysław IV Vasa. In 1688 Christopher Marlowe's The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus was performed. Arranged by director Hilferding, the Schönemann company played Dr. Faustus, Molière's "Tartuffe" and Gottsched's "The Dying Cato". In 1753 Frederick the Great donated Kreytzenschen Square to the theatre director Konrad Ernst Ackermann to build a permanent theatre. With the money of businessman Friedrich Saturgus, Ackermann built the 300-seat theatre as the first in the Kingdom of Prussia. It was opened in 1755 with Racine's ""Mithridate"". Lessing's "Miss Sara Sampson" followed. Fearing the Seven Years ' War, Ackermann left Königsberg in 1756 and went to Leipzig. In 1768 Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Elder wrote the first theatre reviews in Johann Jakob Kanter's "Königsberg Scholars and Political Newspapers". In 1769 director Karl Theophil Döbbelin performed Minna von Barnhelm. Caroline Schuch used the Singspiel between 1771 and 1787. In 1785 there were the first performances of The Robbers, The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa, Don Carlos and Clavigo. In 1788 the Schuch siblings brought The Abduction from the Seraglio, in 1793 Don Giovanni and in 1794 The Magic Flute. In 1795 the theatre burned down. Plays continued  in the old town of Junkerhof. The first performance of "The Marriage of Figaro" took place there in 1798. In 1800 a new theatre was built on the old site based on a design by Friedrich Gilly. After another fire, it was rebuilt in 1802. Director Steinberg brought Zacharias Werner's "Consecration of Power", Wallenstein and Mary Stuart in 1803, Nathan the Wise in 1804 and The Bride of Messina in 1807. At the beginning of the Coalition Wars, songs by Max von Schenkendorf were performed. In 1809 Racine's tragedy Phèdre was staged. After that the theatre became a  concert and society centre. Municipal theatre. The foundation stone for the municipal theatre was laid in 1806 by the Minister for East Prussia of the German Empire Friedrich von Schrötter on Paradeplatz (Königsberg)). The building, designed by , stood partly on the foundations of the that was still under construction. On 9 March 1808, director Carl Steinberg opened it in the presence of the court with the opera "La clemenza di Tito". For unexplained reasons, the building burned down on 1 July 1808. The reopening took place in the presence of the royal couple in December 1809 with the festival "The  Consecration". The theatre premiered "William Tell" (Schiller) in 1810, and "The Maid of Orleans" in 1811. August von Kotzebue was the artistic director. In 1815, Iphigenia in Tauris and Götz von Berlichingen were performed. In 1819, director Hurray brought the first performances of Fidelio and Der Freischütz. After the collapse of the theatre in 1828 and the dissolution of the ensemble, The Broken Jug premiered in 1830 and Faust in 1832. The world premiere of "The Last Held of Marienburg" by Joseph von Eichendorff in 1831 was unsuccessful. The composer Richard Wagner was Kapellmeister at the city theatre from 1836  to 1837. In 1836 he married the actress Minna Planer, who was engaged there, in the Tragheim Church. In 1854 the theatre received gas lighting. For years, German Student Corps from and Corps Masovia acted as doormen. They had to make sure that only students who had been designated by the were allowed to enter the ground floor for 6 Silbergroschen. In return, they were allowed to watch the performance free of charge. In 1879, under the direction of Max Staegemann and conducted by Emil Paur, the German premiere of Bizet's Carmen began, with which it began its global  triumph. After the theatre collapsed again after 1890, the foyer was rebuilt and restaurants were added in 1893. In 1903 the theatre was fitted out with electrical lighting. At the beginning of the First World War, the theatre was rededicated as a hospital. Reopened on 27 August 1918 as a pure opera house, in 1924 it was merged with the New Playhouse to form the "East Prussian State Theatre". The first performance of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss took place in 1927. In 1928 the city acquired both theatres. The history of the theatre ended in World War II when  it burned to the ground during the air raids on Königsberg at the end of August 1944. People. The following people worked at the Königsberg City Theatre: