Strasbourg Opera House

Strasbourg Opera House
Opéra de Strasbourg
Façade in June 2014
Location in Strasbourg
Former names	German: Strassburger Stadttheater (1871–1918)
Alternative names	Théâtre municipal (before 1871)
General information
Type	Opera house
Architectural style	French Neoclassicism
Location	Strasbourg, France
Coordinates	48°35′09.31″N 7°45′08.54″E
Completed	1821; 1888
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Jean-Nicolas Villot, Jean Geoffroy Conrath, Johann-Karl Ott

The Strasbourg Opera House (French: Opéra de Strasbourg), located on Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin, is the main seat and mother house of the opera company Opéra national du Rhin. It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1921.

History

After a fire in 1800 that destroyed a previous opera house, also located on Place Broglie, the Strasbourg municipality set up plans for a new one in 1804. As the Napoleonic Empire came and went, the plans for the théâtre municipal were altered several times, until the building, designed in the Neoclassical style by architect Jean-Nicolas Villot (1782–1857) finally opened to great acclaim in 1821. The monumental façade is adorned by sandstone statues of six muses by Landolin Ohmacht (three muses were left out: Clio, Thalia and Urania), each statue corresponding to a column below.

During the Siege of Strasbourg in 1870, the opera was heavily damaged by Prussian artillery. It was faithfully rebuilt by the architect Jean Geoffroy Conrath, who also rebuilt the Hôtel de Klinglin nearby, and reopened in 1873. In 1888, a semi-circular wing was added at the rear by Johann-Karl Ott (1846–1917).

The auditorium has 1,142 seats and a height of 18 metres (59 feet) from the floor to the ceiling. It has seen performances being conducted by Hans Pfitzner, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Otto Klemperer and George Szell.

Gallery

• 
  Façade and southern side
• 
  Rear and northern side seen from Pont du théâtre
• 
  Polyhymnia and Melpomene on top of the façade
• 
  Calliope on top of the façade
• 
  Seats
• 
  Plaque on the northern side commemorating the Strasbourg massacre of Jews in 1349

See also

• Palais des Fêtes

Literature

• Recht, Roland; Foessel, Georges; Klein, Jean-Pierre: Connaître Strasbourg, 1988, ISBN 2-7032-0185-0, page 228

External links

• Media related to Opéra de Strasbourg at Wikimedia Commons
• Opéra National du Rhin - 19 place Broglie on archi-wiki.org (in French)