"Opera in Gera" Gera by Nemorino

Gera Travel Guide: 28 reviews and 76 photos

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 on the left.

Last visit to Gera: Nov 2004
Intro Updated Jan 25, 2011
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Reviews (10)

21st century Greiz, scene 3 Off The Beaten Path (5)

The third scene would show our suave and dashingly handsome hotel guest eating breakfast the next morning in the hotel,... more travel advice

21st century Greiz, scene 2 Off The Beaten Path (5)

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21st century Greiz, scene 1 Off The Beaten Path (5)

If somebody wanted to write a silly operetta about Greiz in the 21st century, they should be sure to include a couple of... more travel advice

Greiz's claim to fame Off The Beaten Path (5)

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Transportation (3)
See All Vogtlandbahn

Things to Do (2)
See All Orangerie

Comments (43)

deecat Nov 27, 2011 at 1:38 PM Report Abuse

What a wonderful introduction. I certainly did a good deal of smiling as I read your pages for the second time. You do have such a vivid imagination [of course, based on reality]. What class were you teaching? Lucky students if your presentation is 1/2 as excellent as your VT pages!
yumyum Aug 5, 2011 at 12:36 PM Report Abuse

Hi Don, I visited Gera for an afternoon the week after our meeting :-) I will have to build a page about it too.
MalenaN Mar 20, 2011 at 9:51 AM Report Abuse

Nice that you saw some familiar faces at your workshop!
Yaqui Mar 11, 2011 at 7:29 PM Report Abuse

What lovely views. Your pages are always so helpful and informational.
MD2nd Jan 31, 2011 at 5:38 AM Report Abuse

That's been a good thing they've award the title among the German City Theaters. - Thanks for stopping by Eisenach!
mvtouring Jan 29, 2011 at 12:18 PM Report Abuse

Another very interesting page thanks for sharing with us Don
globetrott Jan 28, 2011 at 3:21 PM Report Abuse

An interesting page, Don, and I am glad there is even a bit of "Vienna Blood" in it ! ;-)
Jefie Jan 26, 2011 at 7:39 AM Report Abuse

lol, I would love to see that operetta come to life, I'd never heard of a Hotelomat before! Nice tips on Gera & Greiz :o)
bugulma Jan 26, 2011 at 1:46 AM Report Abuse

:-))) interesting scenario for the operetta :-))
richiecdisc Jan 25, 2011 at 9:47 AM Report Abuse

Very interesting to see a bit of Gera (even the HB for that matter!) as it is the end of the line on our train from Munich to Hof (where we change for a regional one to Dresden).The Vogtlandbahn looks nice too (we see them on other tracks when we switch).