In its 137 years of existence, the building of what was once the New German Theater (Neues Deutsches Theater) had undergone several restorations; nevertheless, according to its current director Jan Burian, with this work, the performance hall had suddenly moved from the 19th to the 21st century. The rotating stage system was replaced, and the ventilation system renovated. Artists now have new rehearsal rooms as well as new dressing rooms. New seats have been added, and they are now equipped with individual captioning devices. The opera also has a new curtain.
Politicians from across Europe were expected to attend the grand reopening ceremony; nevertheless, in the end there was only Viktor Orbán to accompany the Prime Minister at the time, Andrej Babiš, in the box of honor. The program of the gala concert organized on the occasion of the reopening of the historic building included the overture to Richard Wagner’s opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, a piece which had been performed in these same walls for the first time in 1888. The concert ended with the finale of the second act of the opera Fidelio Heil sei dem Tag by Ludwig van Beethoven. This year, on the same date, the National Opera presents the opera Hansel and Gretel inspired by the tale of the Brothers Grimm.
‘Hansel et Gretel’|Photo: Hana Smejkalová, Théâtre national
The National Opera building, which today is one of the four stages of the National Theater, was built in 1888 by the German Theater Association in Prague. Today sandwiched between two lanes of the major north-south axis, it is a typical example of the architecture of the Viennese builders Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, with whom the architect of the Burgtheater in Vienna, Karl Hasenauer, also collaborated. On January 5, 1888, the Neues Deutsches Theater opened its doors to the public, quickly acquiring an international reputation.
Le New German Theater|Source: National Theater Archives
Belgium
