| Page Views: 4,787 Last Visit to Gera: November, 2004 | Opera in Gera by Nemorino - last update: Sep 6, 2009 |
If I told you that this tattered little theater was voted Opera House of the Year for 2004 you wouldn't believe me, would you?
Well it was, sort of, because this year the critics of Opernwelt magazine didn't award this title to one of the big opera houses like Stuttgart or Frankfurt am Main, as they usually do, but rather to The German City Theaters, collectively.
These remarkable city-owned theaters, often in small places like Gera with a population of 111,000 and falling, put on a full-scale program of opera, drama, ballet and concerts for nearly eleven months of the year, using their own full-time ensembles and orchestras. |
| Stage door of the Gera City Theater |
Several years ago I was given a complete personal tour of the Gera City Theater (thanks, Peter!) but this was before I had a digital camera so you will have to take my word for it that the interior is quite beautiful. An unusual feature is that they have an ornate concert hall upstairs, in addition to the large hall where they put on operas and plays.
To survive, the Gera City Theater was merged several years ago with the theater in the nearby town of Altenburg. People at the Gera Theater, especially in the orchestra, were highly skeptical about this at the time, but the merger seems to have worked, at least as far as an out-of-town audience member can tell. I went to Altenburg in 2003 and saw the joint company's production of Die tote Stadt (The Dead City), a very large and challenging opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), who by the way was later forced to emigrate to escape from the Nazis and became one of Hollywood's elite composers of film music in the 1930s and 40s. |
| Construction site at the Gera City Theater |
When I went to Gera in 2004 the first phase of construction was well underway in their project to expand and modernize the Gera City Theater. This first phase was the construction of a new wing on the west side of the building. It includes a new Studio Theater for up to two hundred spectators, a new rehearsal stage with the same floor dimensions as the theater's main stage (ask any theater person how important that is!), expanded foyer and restaurant areas and additional rooms for the administration and technical departments. The first phase began in September 2004 and was completed in August 2005.
The second phase, 2005-2007, included replacement or modernization of the theater's stage machinery and technical systems, as well as a through renovation of the main theater building.
The third phase involved restructuring the theater's immediate surroundings, including the square in front of the building and the restaurant terrace off to the left. |
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Nemorino's Gera Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 2 - Photos: 2 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path
Tips: 5 - Photos: 5 | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | Transportation
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3 | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 Comments for Nemorino about Gera | | | | |
icunme Sun Nov 8, 2009 13:18 UTC
Just came here to see the "suave and dashingly handsome hotel guest" - searching - ta da ta da - still searching..... Did every scene of your little opera here - can't find him!? Just put a photo of yourself up there, Don!! :) | toonsarah Thu Oct 29, 2009 18:43 UTC
I had to smile at your off the beaten path tips - would love to meet that "suave and dashingly handsome hotel guest" ;-) | Segolily Mon Sep 14, 2009 00:46 UTC
Some people are lucky and some make their luck. I think you are one who would have found a way to enjoy his work no matter what it was. But you certainly make it enjoyable for the rest of us. | Yaqui Wed Aug 19, 2009 20:36 UTC
I enjoyed the tour, you visit some of the most interesting and beautiful places. You tell it so eloquent. |
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