Bavarian State Opera

2025-09-05T16:31:55Z

2603:301D:1EA8:8101:3857:C19F:634B:263F: /* Recordings */

{{short description|Opera company in Munich, Bavaria, Germany}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Bayerische Staatsoper<br />Bavarian State Opera
| image = [[File:Bayerische Staatsoper - München - 2013.jpg|frameless|upright=1.2]]
| caption = [[Nationaltheater München]]
| formation = 1653
| location = [[Munich]], Bavaria, Germany
| leader_title = [[Opera management|Intendant]]
| leader_name = Serge Dorny
| parent_organization =
| website = {{URL|http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de}}
}}
The '''Bavarian State Opera''' ({{Langx|de|'''Bayerische Staatsoper'''|italic=no}}) is a German opera company based in [[Munich]]. Its main venue is the [[Nationaltheater München]], and its orchestra the [[Bavarian State Orchestra]].

== History==
[[File:Jahreskonzert der Freunde des Nationaltheaters im Nationaltheater München.jpg|thumb|250px|[[National Theatre (Munich)|Nationaltheater München]], interior]]
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under [[Prince-elector|Electress consort]] [[Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy]], when [[Giovanni Battista Maccioni]]'s ''L'arpa festante'' was performed in the court theatre.<ref>[[John Warrack|Warrack, John]] (2001). [https://books.google.com/books?id=i9yKZYtBKtUC&dq=L%E2%80%99arpa+festante+Giovanni+Battista+Maccioni&pg=PA28 ''German Opera: From the Beginnings to Wagner''], pp. 27–28. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-23532-4}}</ref> In 1753, the Residence Theatre ([[Cuvilliés Theatre]]) was opened as a major stage.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brug |first=Manuel |date=16 June 2008 |title=München hat ein neues Rokoko-Prachtstück |url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/article2108984/Muenchen-hat-ein-neues-Rokoko-Prachtstueck.html |work=[[Die Welt]] |location=Hamburg |language=de |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> While opera performances were also held in the [[Prinzregententheater]] (completed in 1901),<ref>{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Werner |date=10 March 2001 |title=Klein-Bayreuth an der Isar |url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article438718/Klein-Bayreuth-an-der-Isar.html |work=[[Die Welt]] |location=Hamburg |language=de |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> the company's home base is the [[Nationaltheater München]] on [[Max-Joseph-Platz]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Schönbauer |first=Sina |date=15 June 2016 |title=Die Bayerische Staatsoper ist die drittgrößte Bühne Europas |url=http://www.focus.de/regional/muenchen/das-nationaltheater-in-muenchen-bayerische-staatsoper-die-drittgroesste-buehne-europas_id_3791523.html |work=[[Focus (German magazine)|Focus]] |language=de |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>

In 1875, the [[Munich Opera Festival]] took place for the first time. Sir [[Peter Jonas (director)|Peter Jonas]] became the [[opera manager|general manager]] in 1993,<ref>{{cite news |last=Spahn |first=Claus |date=19 November 1993 |title=Die Droge Oper |url=http://www.zeit.de/1993/47/die-droge-oper |work=[[Die Zeit]] |location=Hamburg |language=de |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> the first British general manager of any major German-speaking opera house. In 2008, [[Nikolaus Bachler]] became Intendant (general manager) of the opera company, and [[Kirill Petrenko]] became [[Generalmusikdirektor]] (GMD) in 2013. In 2014, the Bavarian State Opera received the ''Opernhaus des Jahres'' (opera house of the year) award from ''[[Opernwelt]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite press release |date=30 September 2014 |title=Bayerische Staatsoper ist Opernhaus des Jahres |url=https://www.welt.de/newsticker/dpa_nt/infoline_nt/boulevard_nt/article132759650/Bayerische-Staatsoper-ist-Opernhaus-des-Jahres.html |location=Munich |work=[[Die Welt]] |agency=dpa |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> In October 2015, the company announced the extensions of the contracts of Bachler and of Petrenko through August 2021.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.staatsoper.de/presse/presseinformationen/presse-infos-oper/mitteilung/news/kirill-petrenko-und-nikolaus-bachler-verlaengern-ihre-vertraege-1.html | title=Kirill Petrenko und Nikolaus Bachler verlängern ihre Verträge | publisher=Bavarian State Opera | date=13 October 2015 | access-date=14 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213010916/https://www.staatsoper.de/presse/presseinformationen/presse-infos-oper/mitteilung/news/kirill-petrenko-und-nikolaus-bachler-verlaengern-ihre-vertraege-1.html | archive-date=13 December 2017 |url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="wulff">{{cite news | author=Matthias Wulff | title=Kirill Petrenko kommt später als erwartet nach Berlin | url=http://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berlin-kultur/article206257649/Kirill-Petrenko-kommt-spaeter-als-erwartet-nach-Berlin.html | work=Berliner Morgenpost | date=13 October 2015 | access-date=14 October 2015}}</ref> Both Bachler and Petrenko stood down from their respective posts at the close of the 2020–2021 season.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/arts/music/nikolaus-bachler-munich-opera.html | title=The 'Prince of Opera' Bids Munich Farewell | work=The New York Times | author=Joshua Barone | date=7 July 2021 | access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref>

In March 2018, the company announced the appointments of {{ill|Serge Dorny|de}} as its next general manager, and of [[Vladimir Jurowski]] as its next GMD, both effective with the 2021–2022 season.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/arts/music/bavarian-state-opera-vladimir-jurowski.html | title=An Opera Powerhouse, Munich, Picks Its Next Leaders | work=The New York Times | author=Michael Cooper | date=6 March 2018 | access-date=7 March 2018}}</ref> In June 2024, the company announced the extension of Dorny's contract as ''Intendant'' through 2031, and of Jurowski's contract as GMD through the close of the 2027–2028 season, at which time Jurowski is expected to stand down as GMD.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.staatsoper.de/presse/presseinfo-17-juni-2024 | title=Verträge mit Staatsintendanten Serge Dorny, Generalmusikdirektor Vladimir Jurowski und Ballettdirektor Laurent Hilaire verlängert – Startschuss für externen Beratungsprozess und strukturelle Reformen | publisher=Bavarian State Opera | date=17 June 2024 | access-date=2024-07-02}}</ref>

The company received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2018 and 2023 [[International Opera Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Winners 2018 |url=https://operaawards.org/archive/2018/ |website=International Opera Awards |access-date=9 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Winners 2023 |url=https://operaawards.org/archive/2023/ |website=International Opera Awards |access-date=26 November 2023}}</ref>

== Intendant ==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Johann Nepomuk von Poißl]] (1824–1848)
* {{ill|Karl Theodor von Küstner|de}} (1848–1851)
* [[Franz von Dingelstedt]] (1851–1858)
* {{ill|Karl von Perfall|de}} (1868–1893)
* [[Ernst von Possart]] (1895–1906)
* [[Albert von Speidel]] (1907–1912)
* [[Clemens von Franckenstein]] (1912–1918)
* {{ill|Karl Zeiss|de}} (1918–1924)
* Clemens von Franckenstein (1924–1934)
* [[Hans Knappertsbusch]] (1934–1935)
* [[Oskar Walleck]] (1935–1937)
* [[Clemens Krauss]] (1937–1940)
* {{ill|Georg Hartmann (director)|de|Georg Hartmann (Intendant)|lt=Georg Hartmann}} (1945–1952)
* {{ill|Rudolf Hartmann (director)|de|Rudolf Hartmann (Regisseur)|lt=Rudolf Hartmann}} (1952–1967)
* [[Günther Rennert]] (1967–1976)
* [[August Everding]] (1977–1982)
* [[Wolfgang Sawallisch]] (1982–1993)
* [[Peter Jonas (director)|Peter Jonas]] (1993–2006)
* [[Kent Nagano]] (2006–2008)
* [[Nikolaus Bachler]] (2008–2021)
* {{ill|Serge Dorny|de}} (2021–present)
{{Div col end}}

== Generalmusikdirektor ==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Franz Lachner]] (1836–1867)
* [[Hans von Bülow]] (1864–1869)
* [[Franz Wüllner]] (1870–1877)
* [[Hermann Levi]] (1872–1896)
* [[Richard Strauss]] (1894–1896)
* [[Max Erdmannsdörfer]] (1896–1898)
* [[Bernhard Stavenhagen]] (1898–1902)
* [[Hermann Zumpe]] (1901–1903)
* [[Felix Mottl]] (1904–1911)
* [[Bruno Walter]] (1913–1922)
* [[Hans Knappertsbusch]] (1922–1935)
* [[Clemens Krauss]] (1937–1944)
* [[Hans Knappertsbusch]] (1945)
* [[Georg Solti]] (1946–1952)
* [[Rudolf Kempe]] (1952–1954)
* [[Ferenc Fricsay]] (1956–1958)
* [[Joseph Keilberth]] (1959–1968)
* [[Wolfgang Sawallisch]] (1971–1992)
* [[Peter Schneider (conductor)|Peter Schneider]] (interim, 1992–1998)
* [[Zubin Mehta]] (1998–2006)
* [[Kent Nagano]] (2006–2013)
* [[Kirill Petrenko]] (2013–2021)
* [[Vladimir Jurowski]] (2021–present)
{{Div col end}}

== World premieres ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- class="hintergrundfarbe5"
! Date
! Opera
! Composer
! Libretto
! Location
|-
| {{dts|2 October 1753}}
| ''[[Catone in Utica]]''
| [[Giovanni Battista Ferrandini|Ferrandini]]
| [[Metastasio]]
| [[Cuvilliés Theatre|Residence Theatre]]
|-
| {{dts|13 January 1775}}
| ''[[La finta giardiniera]]''
| [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]
| {{sortname|Giuseppe|Petrosellini}}(?)
| Salvator Theatre
|-
| {{dts|29 January 1781}}
| ''[[Idomeneo]]''
| Mozart
| {{sortname|Giambattista|Varesco}}
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|1 February 1782}}
| ''Semiramide''
| [[Antonio Salieri|Salieri]]
| Metastasio
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|27 January 1807}}
| ''Iphigenie in Aulis''
| {{sortname|Franz|Danzi}}
| {{sortname|Karl|Reger|nolink=1}}
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|4 June 1811}}
| ''[[Abu Hassan]]''
| [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]]
| {{sortname|Franz Carl|Hiemer|nolink=1}}
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|23 December 1812}}
| ''[[Jephtas Gelübde]]''
| [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]]
| {{sortname|Aloys|Schreiber|nolink=1}}
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|10 June 1865}}
| ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]''
| [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]
| Wagner
| [[National Theatre Munich|National Theatre]]
|-
| {{dts|21 June 1868}}
| ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]''
| Wagner
| Wagner
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|22 September 1869}}
| ''[[Das Rheingold]]''
| Wagner
| Wagner
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|26 June 1870}}
| ''[[Die Walküre]]''
| Wagner
| Wagner
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|29 June 1888}}
| ''[[Die Feen]]''
| Wagner
| Wagner
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|23 January 1897}}
| ''[[Königskinder]]'' (Melodrama)
| [[Engelbert Humperdinck (composer)|Humperdinck]]
| {{sortname|Elsa|Bernstein}}
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|10 October 1897}}
| ''Sarema''
| {{sortname|Alexander|von Zemlinsky}}
| {{sortname|Alexander and Adolf|von Zemlinsky|nolink=1}}, [[Arnold Schoenberg]]
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|22 January 1899}}
| ''[[Der Bärenhäuter (opera)|Der Bärenhäuter]]''
| {{sortname|Siegfried|Wagner}}
| {{sortname|Siegfried|Wagner|nolink=1}}
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|27 November 1903}}
| ''[[Le donne curiose]]''
| [[Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari|Wolf-Ferrari]]
| {{sortname|Luigi|Sugana|nolink=1}} (German by Hermann Teibler)
| Residence Theatre
|-
| {{dts|19 March 1906}}
| ''[[I quatro rusteghi]]''
| Wolf-Ferrari
| {{sortname|Giuseppe|Pizzolato|nolink=1}} (German by Hermann Teibler)
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|11 December 1906}}
| ''[[Das Christ-Elflein]]''
| {{sortname|Hans|Pfitzner}}
| Pfitzner and [[Ilse von Stach]]
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|4 December 1909}}
| ''[[Il segreto di Susanna]]''
| Wolf-Ferrari
| {{sortname|Enrico|Golisciani|nolink=1}} (German by [[Max Kalbeck]])
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|28 March 1916}}
| ''[[Der Ring des Polykrates (opera)|Der Ring des Polykrates]]'' / ''[[Violanta]]''
| [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Korngold]]
| {{sortname|Leo|Feld}} and [[Julius Korngold]] / [[Hans Müller-Einigen]]
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|12 June 1917}}
| ''[[Palestrina (opera)|Palestrina]]''
| {{sortname|Hans|Pfitzner|nolink=1}}
| Pfitzner
| [[Prinzregententheater]]
|-
| {{dts|30 November 1920}}
| ''[[Die Vögel (opera)|Die Vögel]]''
| {{sortname|Walter|Braunfels}}
| Braunfels (play by [[Aristophanes]])
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|24 July 1938}}
| ''[[Friedenstag]]''
| {{sortname|Richard|Strauss}}
| {{sortname|Joseph|Gregor}} and [[Stefan Zweig]]
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|5 February 1939}}
| ''[[Der Mond]]''
| {{sortname|Carl|Orff}}
| Orff
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|28 October 1942}}
| ''[[Capriccio (opera)|Capriccio]]''
| {{sortname|Richard|Strauss}}
| Strauss and [[Clemens Krauss]]
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|11 August 1957}}
| ''[[Die Harmonie der Welt]]''
| {{sortname|Paul|Hindemith}}
| Hindemith
| Prinzregententheater
|-
| {{dts|9 July 1978}}
| ''[[Lear (opera)|Lear]]''
| {{sortname|Aribert|Reimann}}
| {{sortname|Claus H.|Henneberg}}
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|6 July 1991}}
| ''[[Ubu Rex]]''
| [[Krzysztof Penderecki|Penderecki]]
| Penderecki and [[Jerzy Jarocki]] (play by [[Alfred Jarry]])
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|17 July 2003}}
| ''[[Das Gesicht im Spiegel]]''
| {{sortname|Jörg|Widmann}}
| {{sortname|Roland|Schimmelpfennig}}
| [[Cuvilliés Theatre]]
|-
| {{dts|30 June 2007}}
| ''[[Alice in Wonderland (opera)|Alice in Wonderland]]''
| {{sortname|Unsuk|Chin}}
| {{sortname|David Henry|Hwang}}
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|22 February 2010}}
| ''Die Tragödie des Teufels''
| {{sortname|Peter|Eötvös}}
| {{sortname|Albert|Ostermaier|nolink=1}}
| National Theatre
|-
| {{dts|27 October 2012}}
| ''[[Babylon (opera)|Babylon]]''
| {{sortname|Jörg|Widmann|nolink=1}}
| {{sortname|Peter|Sloterdijk}}
| National Theatre
|-
|}

==Recordings==
Bavarian State Opera has issued numerous recordings under record labels such as [[Deutsche Grammophon]]. In May 2021, it launched its own recording label, Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings (BSOrec).<ref name="bsorec">{{cite web |title=Recordings |url=https://www.staatsoper.de/en/recordings.html |website=Bayerische Staatsoper |access-date=4 May 2021 |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Among the company's noted recordings are the 1989 video recording of [[Wagner]]s' ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' conducted by [[Wolfgang Sawallisch]], which won Best Video in the 1993 [[Gramophone Classical Music Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen |url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/wagner-der-ring-des-nibelungen-4 |website=Gramophone |access-date=4 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The 1973 recording of Richard Strauss's ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'', conducted by [[Carlos Kleiber]] and released in 2008, was highly acclaimed and selected as Editor's Choice in the April 2009 issue of [[Gramophone (magazine)|''Gramophone'' Magazine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Strauss, R: Der Rosenkavalier |url=https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7951703--strauss-r-der-rosenkavalier |website=Presto Classical |access-date=4 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

At the International Opera Awards, the Bayerische Staatsoper won the 2018 the Opera Company Award.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 |url=http://www.operaawards.org/archive/2018/ |website=Opera Awards |access-date=4 May 2021 |date=29 January 2018}}</ref> Their recording of Handel's Agrippina, directed by Barrie Kosky from the Royal Opera House, has been shortlisted for the 2018 Opera Awards.
<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 |url=http://www.operaawards.org/archive/2020/ |website=Opera Awards |access-date=4 May 2021 |date=5 February 2020}}</ref>

In 1977, a recording by the Bavarian State Opera was selected by NASA to be included on the [[Voyager Golden Record]], a gold-plated copper record that was sent into space on the [[Voyager program|Voyager space craft]]. The record contained sounds and images which had been selected as examples of the diversity of life and culture on Earth. In the recording, soprano [[Edda Moser]] sings "[[Queen of the Night aria|Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen]]" from Mozart's opera, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'', conducted by Sawallisch.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voyager – Music on the Golden Record |url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/ |website=voyager.jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=4 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Late Junction: The songs they sent to space |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Zy10WWyStk9W7kXQs3CFpV/the-songs-they-sent-to-space |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=[[BBC Radio 3]] |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sagan |first1=Carl |title=Murmurs of Earth |date=2 April 2013 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-80202-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtN3CQDLQCsC |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de}}
* [https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsorchester/history.html Bayerisches Staatsorchester history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707174329/https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsorchester/history.html |date=7 July 2017 }}
* [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Bayerisches-Staatsorchester.htm Bayerisches Staatsorchester] at the Bach Cantatas Website

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[[Category:Bavarian State Opera| ]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Munich]]
[[Category:1653 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:17th-century establishments in Bavaria]]
[[Category:Organizations established in the 1650s]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in the 17th century]]
[[Category:German opera companies]]
[[Category:Theatres in Munich]]

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Bavarian State Opera