  The Theater Lübeck (formerly known as the Stages of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck or City Theater for short) is operated by Lübecker Theater gGmbH, a company of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck in northern Germany. Around 400 people work at the Theater Lübeck, including the permanent ensemble for drama and musical theater, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the theater choir, and guests. ContentsHistoryWith the fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago in 1903, new safety regulations became binding for German theaters. These called into question the existence of the Casino Theater building, constructed in 1858, and led to its demolition in 1905. The choice was between building the new theater on the same site or on Zollschuppenplatz in front of the Holsten Gate. A freestanding building with a representative effect could not be erected in the densely built-up Old Town, but it could be built on the site in front of the gate. Since a stalemate existed, Emil Possehl forced the decision in December 1905 by offering to donate the purchase price for the land at Beckergrube to the state. The money would be available by the turn of the year. A theatre construction commission was formed in 1905/1906 to build a new theatre. Participants in the architectural competition organized by the commission included Max Littmann (Munich, architect of the Prinzregententheater) and Carl Moritz (Cologne, architect of the Cologne Opera House). The jury included, for example, Paul Wallot, the architect of the Reichstag building in Berlin. The Munich architect Martin Dülfer, who also had previous experience in theater construction, emerged as the winner of the competition. He had worked as a young professional in the Berlin architectural office of Karl von Großheim, who was also a member of the jury. The theater, rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style on the property at Beckergrube 10–14, opened on October 1, 1908. The current Grand Theater had 970 seats and up to 78 standing places at its opening (see illustrations). The Marble Hall for festivities was located on the front upper floor. The reliefs in the main cornice of the sandstone façade are the work of the sculptor Georg Roemer. The central panel depicts Apollo and the nine Muses, with Comedy and Tragedy on either side. The group of Caryatids and Atlantes supporting the pediment is the work of the sculptor Karl Weinberger. During the Nazi era, theater schedules in Germany were largely geared toward public entertainment, so more operettas and comedies were included in the programs. There was a "comprehensive appropriation of content, personnel, and organization" of theaters in the German Reich in the spirit of "Gleichschaltung" (coordination) under the supervision of the Reich Theater Chamber. Works by Jewish or other ideologically undesirable artists disappeared from the schedules, and Jewish and other ideologically undesirable ensemble members were no longer employed. Between 1935 and 1940, however, the Lübeck Theater hosted guest dance performances by Gret Palucca once per season. While there were probably no party members among the ensemble members, the theater management was entirely made up of NSDAP members. The comprehensive redesign of the interior of the Lübeck City Theatre in 1938/39 also took place during the Nazi era. The ideologically undesirable stucco and Art Nouveau ornaments disappeared behind wood paneling. The richly decorated Art Nouveau ceiling of the main hall was removed. The interior of the theatre building now appeared simple and functional. At the same time, necessary maintenance of the building and the technical equipment was carried out. The orchestra pit was extended into the auditorium and slightly raised to achieve better visibility and acoustics. After completion of the work in 1941, the number of seats in the main theater was still around 1,000, and in the Kammerspiele between 300 and 400. The renovation and reconstruction work, which began in 1939, also included the construction of a warehouse building. Two neighboring properties in the Fischergrube district were acquired for this purpose. However, due to the outbreak of war, only the foundation could be built. The attached warehouse and workshop building was not completed until 1953. During the bombing of Lübeck in March 1942, the roof of the theater building suffered only minor splinter damage, which was promptly repaired. The theater otherwise remained undamaged during World War II. At the end of August 1944, all German theaters ceased operations. The theater was used only for film productions, special events, or meetings. After the end of the war in May 1945, the theater building was confiscated by British troops and used for their own meetings and cultural events. The theater director and the city's cultural administration endeavored to quickly resume theater and orchestra operations. Initially, performances took place in the Colosseum and the Delta Palace. The British occupying forces were increasingly persuaded to resume performances at the city theater, a move championed in particular by the British control officer Stephen Reiss. Nevertheless, the theater continued to be used by the British military until 1948. On September 29, 1946, the Grand Theatre reopened to the public with Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. In 1965, a studio stage for the children's and youth theater was created in the theater's former dining hall. The building underwent a complete renovation between 1993 and 1996. All Art Nouveau forms inside the building were reconstructed, particularly the ceiling of the Grand Theatre. In favor of improved escape routes, improved lighting, and a technical control room, approximately 150 seats and the standing area were sacrificed. As the theater's own contribution to the high renovation costs, it was agreed to discontinue its dance theater department in 1995. The architects for the theater renovation were the Chlumský-Peters-Hildebrand architectural firm. Since then, the building has presented itself as a historically significant theater building of the Art Nouveau period in Northern Germany.
Philharmonic Orchestra and ChoirThe Philharmonic Orchestra of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (also known as the Lübeck Philharmonic) was founded in 1897 by the Lübeck Music Friends Association. In addition to the nine double symphony concerts annually, as well as several chamber concerts, special concerts, and extra concerts, the Lübeck Philharmonic and the 30-voice choir plus extra choir of the Theater Lübeck have significantly shaped the sound profile of the musical theater at the Lübeck City Theater since 1908, to which they are organizationally assigned. The orchestra's concerts are now perceived as a "new" third division of the theater. The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck, with approximately 70 members, is an ensemble with diverse ties to Lübeck. Conductors in the orchestra's earlier period included Hermann Abendroth (1905–1911), Wilhelm Furtwängler (1911–1915), Hermann Hans Wetzler (Kapellmeister 1915–1919), and Eugen Jochum (1928/29). From 1933 to 1945, Furtwängler and Abendroth repeatedly had to come to terms with the Nazi regime elsewhere. In Lübeck, too, from 1933 to 1945, as in other places, there was the ostracism and oblivion of people and works. In 1994, the Philharmonic Orchestra moved into the Lübeck Music and Congress Hall, designed by the architect Meinhard von Gerkan, as its new concert hall. The hall's concert hall seats up to 1,990 people and offers excellent acoustics. Today, members of the Philharmonic Orchestra and audiences enjoy a shared, free and diverse experience of sound at various concerts held at various venues throughout the city: during concerts in the Music and Congress Hall, in the Main Hall during musical theater performances, and during chamber concerts, for example, in the museums, the Library Hall, the Town Hall, and the churches of the Old Town. The theater todayToday, Theater Lübeck combines three venues in one building. In the Grand Theater (approximately 800 seats), 400 sqm of stage space (plus the orchestra platforms) are used for performances with extensive stage machinery. In the Kammerspiele (approximately 320 seats), a stage with 150 sqm of stage space is available. In the Studio (130 sqm of space) there are up to 99 variable seats. The program originally comprised the three classical genres. After discontinuing its own dance theater (ballet) in 1995, Theater Lübeck offers musical theater and drama, as well as concerts by the Lübeck Philharmonic, in the main house, in the Kammerspiele, and in the Junges Studio. The Kiel Ballet performs in cooperation with the dance theater. As of August 2022, the theater's management consisted of: Caspar Sawade (Managing Theater Director), Stefan Vladar (General Music Director and Opera Director), Malte C. Lachmann (Drama Director), Luise Weidner (Technical Director), Angela Kalms (Administrative Director), and Knut Winkmann (Head of JungPlusX). The Hanseatic City of Lübeck holds 62.5% of the shares in Lübecker Theater gGmbH, while the remaining 12.5% are each held by the Nordwestmecklenburg district, the Lübeck Merchants' Association, and the Society of Theater Friends Lübeck e. V. Own revenues and donations cover only a very small portion of the expenses of public theaters in Germany. The three public theater companies in Schleswig-Holstein are supported by the respective cities and districts. They are financed (around 90%) by grants from the respective municipalities and similarly high amounts from state fiscal equalization funds. The number of visitors to the Lübeck Theater's events was recently over 180,000 in the 2018/2019 season. The DVD edition of a new production of The Ring of the Nibelung at the Theater Lübeck was awarded the ECHO Klassik 2012 as DVD Music Production of the Year. References
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