Opera house [Zurich]
Opernhaus Zürich
Teatro de ópera de Zúrich
Theatre building in Zurich, Switzerland
operagebouw in Zürich, Zwitserland
Opera house
Opernhaus Zürich designed by the infamous architects Fellner and Helmer in 1891, opening as Stadttheater. It is located at the Sechseläutenplatz next to Lake Zürich on the original site of the Aktien-Theater, which opened in 1834 with Mozart’s Magic Flute but burned down in 1890.Interestingly, it was financed by private individual investors, supporting a joint effort of theatre lovers to keep theatre and grand opera in Zürich. During Richard Wagner’s period of exile from Germany, it became his main place of work.With only 1100 seats, it is considered a more intimate venue for opera and ballet.
Built 1890-1891 as Stadttheater by Ferdinand Fellner & Hermann Helmer. After the old 1834 Stadttheater had been destroyed by a fire on 1 Jan 1890, a join-stock company Theater-Aktiengesellschaft founded the building of this new theatre, with a communal subsidize of only 10% of the construction costs. Opened 1 Oct 1891 with Rossini's Guiglielmo Tell. 1936 renovation and extensions. Renamed Opernhaus in 1964. In the 1960s, there were plans to destroy the building and build a modern opera house. After years of political struggle it was decided that the old building exterior and the auditorium would be saved, while foyers and the stage parts were largely rebuilt, including the demolishing of the old Esplanade building and the building of a new home for the Bernhard-Theater. After the renovations of 1981-1984 the theatre re-opened on 2 Dec 1984 with Wagner's Lohengrin. Formerly 1238 seats, today 1100 seats.
Descriptive text, II. pp. 53, 54; III. p. 25 ; View of auditorium, II. p. 52 ; Block plan, II. p. 53 ; General view, II. p. 53 ; View of proscenium, II. p. 54 ; Front elevation, II. PL 99; Plan 2nd tier, II. PL 99 ; Plan area, II. PL 100; Plan 3rd tier, II. PL 100; Longitudinal section, II. PL 101 ; Transverse section, II. PL 101 ; Plan area, III. p. 24; View of vestibule, III. p. 81 ; Lounge, III. p. 87 ; View of ceiling, III. p.122; Skeleton plan of auditorium, III. PL opp. p. 62 ; Skeleton section of auditorium, III. PL opp. p. 62 ; Elevation of proscenium frame, III. PL opp. p. 73 ; Dates and dimensions, III. p. 19; References, III. pp. 25, 70, 71, 75, 88, 90