The Leipzig Opera () is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany.
History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspiel performances beginning in the year 1693. The composer of many early operas at the first opera house, the Oper am Brühl, was Telemann. He was director of the house from 1703 to 1705.
The Leipzig Opera does not have its own opera orchestra – the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performs as its orchestra. This relationship began in 1766 with performances of the Singspiel by Johann Adam Hiller.
Opera House, 1868
The previous theater (the "") was inaugurated on 28 January 1868 with Jubilee Overture by Carl Maria von Weber and the overture for Iphigénie en Aulide by Gluck and Goethe's play Iphigenia in Tauris. From 1886 to 1888, Gustav Mahler was the second conductor; Arthur Nikisch was his superior. During an air raid in the night of 3 December 1943, part of the bombing of Leipzig in World War II, the theater was destroyed, as were all of Leipzig's theatres.
Opera House, 1960 Construction of the modern opera house began in 1956. The theater was inaugurated on 8 October 1960 with a performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg."Die ersten Vorstellungen in der Neuen Oper Leipzig", Oper Leipzig – Die Technik, archived from the original .
Ulf Schirmer became Generalmusikdirektor (General Music Director, or GMD) of the company in 2009. He was elected artistic director (Intendant) in 2011 for a five-year term. Schirmer stood down from both posts in 2022.
Tobias Wolff became Intendant of the company in 2022. Christoph Gedschold became music director of the company as of the 2022–2023 season. In May 2023, the company announced that Gedschold is to stand down as its music director as of the close of the 2023–2024 season.
General music directors (partial list) Arthur Nikisch (1878) Gustav Mahler (1886–1888) Otto Lohse (1912) Gustav Brecher (1923) (1932) (1951) Paul Schmitz (1964) Lothar Zagrosek (1990–1992) Jiří Kout (1993) Michail Jurowski (1999) Riccardo Chailly (2005–2008) Ulf Schirmer (2009–2022) (2022–present)
World premieres Several operas received their premiere in Leipzig, including:
1826: Oberon by Weber (first production in Germany) 1828: Der Vampyr by Marschner 1837: Zar und Zimmermann by Lortzing 1850: Genoveva by Schumann 1902: by Felix Weingartner 1906: The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth 1927: Jonny spielt auf by Krenek 1930: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny by Weill 1931: Die Blume von Hawaii by Abraham 1933: Der Silbersee by Weill 1937: Viola by Ludwig Schmidseder 1943: Catulli Carmina by Orff 1966: Guyana Johnny by Alan Bush 1971: Der zerbrochne Krug by Fritz Geißler 1988: Der Idiot by Karl Ottomar Treibmann 1991: Matka by Annette Schlünz 1993: Nachtwache by Jörg Herchet 1993: Dienstag from Licht by Stockhausen 1996: Freitag from Licht by Stockhausen 1997: Abraum by Jörg Herchet 2001: Persephone oder der Ausgleich der Welten by Günter Neubert 2006: Der schwarze Mönch by Philippe Hersant 2009: Rituale – eine Tanzoper für Georg Friedrich Händel by Heike Hennig 2009: Das Wesentliche ist unsichtbar, production of the opera's children's choir 2010: Monsieu Mathieu, was wird? production of the opera's children's choir with schools, music by Bruno Coulais and Christophe Barratier 2011: Was, wäre, wenn? production of the opera's children's choir 2011: Waldrandgeflüster, production of the opera's youth and children's choir 2015: The Canterville Ghost by Gordon Getty
References
External links
Interview with Damien Diaz, Principal Dancer under Uwe Scholz