Naturtheater am Apollo-Tempel [Schwetzingen]
type: Item
description: Theatre building in Schwetzingen, Germany
alternative label: Naturtheater am Apollo-Tempel
EUTA building identifier: 1911
Importance: Not rated
Type of information: Performance venue
Field: architecture
Country: Germany
City: Schwetzingen
Wikidata source: Q56240551
opening date: 1761-01-01T00:00:00Z
Wikidata instance: Q336514
Carthalia ID: 2100
Preservation state: extant building
Preservation state: Disused
Note: Open-air garden theatre, built 1761 for Kurfürst Carl Theodor von der Pfalz. The theatre consisted of a semicircular auditorium surrounded by Sphinx sculptures, an elevated stage, and two wooden proscenium portals at each side of the auditorium. The Apollo-Tempel façade and its grotto basement doubled as stage background wall. Used for drama and opera performances (eg. Gluck's Cythère assiegèe, performed in 1774 in presence of the composer). In 1843, the wooden portals were destroyed by a falling tree. In the 1990s, trees were planted at the site of the portals to convey an idea of the original design.