!!!Burgtheater
Burgtheater, Federal Theatres in Vienna; called "die Burg" by the
Viennese population; ranks among the best-known traditional stages in
the world. Over the years, its theatrical company of more or less
regular members has worked out a traditional style and speech
characteristic of Burgtheater performances. The audience has always
been involved in evaluating the talents of new members of the
Burgtheater company.
\\
''Theatre building:'' in 1741 Empress Maria Theresia authorised the
theatre manager Joseph Selliers to convert the festival and banquet
hall which had been added to the north-eastern angle of the Imperial
Palace (Hofburg) into a theatre. The newly adapted theatre "next to
the Burg" was inaugurated in 1748; the back wall of the stage was
moved further out onto Michaelerplatz in 1756. The auditorium of the
old Burgtheater was a wooden structure which created an excellent
atmosphere and had superb acoustic properties. The Burgtheater was
always closely linked to the Imperial family, who enjoyed the
privilege of theatre boxes that could be reached directly from the
imperial rooms. After the last performance in this building on October
12, 1888, the Burgtheater company moved to the new building on
the Ringstrasse, built by architects G. Semper and C. von Hasenauer.
Both actors and audiences, however, complained about the bad acoustics
and the new Burgtheater no longer enjoyed the reputation of its
predecessor. In 1897 the auditorium was redone. After the
Schoenbrunner Schlosstheater had become temporarily affiliated to the
Burgtheater in 1919 the Akademietheater, which was housed in the
Konzerthaus (concert hall building), became affiliated to the
Burgtheater as a studio theatre from 1922 to 1923. On March
12, 1945 the Burgtheater was largely destroyed in a bombing raid
and further damaged by a fire of unknown origin on April
12, 1945. Accordingly, the Burgtheater company temporarily moved
to the Ronacher variety theatre. The Burgtheater was finally rebuilt
between 1953 and 1955; M. Engelhart was responsible for the new design
of the auditorium, O. Niedermoser and S. Nordegg were responsible
for the new stage design. The new Burgtheater building was finally
inaugurated on October 15, 1955.
\\
''Artistic direction and management:'' Between 1741 and 1752 the
Burgtheater was leased to various theatre managers; gala performances
were, however, organised for the Imperial family, who still enjoyed
the privilege of theatre boxes. The stage performed both opera and
drama; plays were mostly performed in Italian and French, rarely in
German. In 1752 Empress Maria Theresia put the theatre under Court
administration. The reform operas of C. W. Gluck were performed
for the first time during this period. However, several managers of
the Burgtheater had suffered financial losses after 1756; accordingly,
Emperor Joseph II declared the Burgtheater the "National Theatre
next to the Burg" in 1776 and entrusted a joint committee of actors
and directors with its management; later J. F. Brockmann assumed
responsibility for the management of the Burgtheater; 1776 is
generally considered the foundation year of the Burgtheater as we know
it today. The actors finally obtained the status of "civil servants of
the state", or court civil servants, and they were even granted old
age pensions. Much money was spent on opera and ballet performances,
on performances of "well-done" translations and plays written in
German. However, the management and direction of the Burgtheater were
once again entrusted to free-lance theatre managers between 1794 and
1817. In 1814 the last of these, Count Ferdinand Pálffy,
entrusted J. Schreyvogel (1814-1832) with the administration of the
theatre; Schreyvogel introduced a number of reforms; his greatest
achievements were the introduction of a repertoire (ranging from
classical German drama to premières of plays by F:
Grillparzer); the recruitment of new members of the theatrical company
and the development of a speech characteristic of Burgtheater
performances. - Under the management of H. Laube (1849-1867) the
Burgtheater finally achieved its leading position among German stages.
Its broad repertoire (164 plays) comprised excellent performances of
German classical drama and contemporary drawing-room plays. - Whereas
Laube was praised for his excellence as a stage and speech director,
his successor F. Dingelstedt (1870-1881) was much admired for his
stage design and sumptuous productions. His repertoire consisted of
109 plays. - Under the management of M. Burckhard (1890-1898) an
increasing number of plays by contemporary authors were performed in
the Burgtheater, including plays by naturalist dramatists such as H.
Ibsen and G. Hauptmann as well as plays by A. Schnitzler. - The
repertoire developed by Burgtheater manager P. Schlenther (1898-1910)
focused on plays by Austrian dramatists such as F. Raimund and J.
Nestroy. - A decisive change in the style of acting was noticed under
the management of A. Berger (1910-1912), a strict opponent of
naturalism who concentrated on the psychological aspects of
contemporary plays and favoured star actors such as F. Mitterwurzer
and J. Kainz with new roles. - Manager Heine (1918-1921) tried in
vain to hire M. Reinhardt and his theatrical company. The writer A.
Wildgans was twice manager of the Burgtheater, from 1921 to 1922 and
from 1930 to 1931. - H. Roebbeling (1932-1938) introduced a
repertoire organised in various cycles, i.e. each play was performed
for a limited period of time in rotation with other plays; his aim was
to realise an international repertoire in which the works of Austrian
dramatists were balanced with those of writers from other countries.
M. Eis and F. Liewehr were among the most famous actors employed by
him. - Manager L. Muethel (1939-1945), who was assisted by the
dramaturge Erhard Buschbeck, strove to implement a classical
repertoire free from Nazi propaganda. - When the Burgtheater was
granted ´asylum´ in the variety theatre Ronacher it was
managed by the actor R. Aslan (1945-1948), E. Buschbeck (temporary
head from March to October 1948) and J. Gielen (1948-1954). The new
Burgtheater building on the Ringstrasse was inaugurated under the
management of A. Rott (1954-1959). Rott succeeded in making perfect
use of state-of-the-art stage machinery. The new repertoire of the
Burgtheater included plays by authors forbidden by the National
Socialists and classical drama as well as plays by the young Austrian
dramatist F. Hochwaelder. - E. Haeusserman (1959-1968) employed
renowned stage directors and enjoyed a high reputation for dividing
his repertoire into various cycles. 60 new members were recruited when
former members of the Burgtheater company retired, which allowed the
Burgtheater company to go on a world tour in 1968. - P. Hoffmann
(1968-1971), both actor and administrative director of the
Burgtheater, hired H. Reincke and K. Wussow. - G. Klingenberg
(1971-1976) strove to make the Burgtheater a stage for contemporary
plays. - A. Benning, the first elected spokesman of the Burgtheater
company (1971), devoted himself to promoting repertory theatre
(approximately 50 plays were performed in a season) when he was
responsible for the management of the Burgtheater between 1976 and
1986 and gave preference to plays the audience wanted to see. - By
changing the subscription system and offering cheap tickets to
students, his successor C. Peymann (from 1986-1999) was able to
attract a younger audience to the Burgtheater; his modernised
programme and characteristic style of theatrical productions, however,
met with general opposition among elderly theatre-goers. In 1993 a
rehearsal stage designed by the Austrian architect G. Peichl was
opened in the Arsenal multi-purpose complex. Peymann's successor in
1999 was K. Bachler. The Austrian federal theatres have been
encompassed in a holding company since 1999 and the Burgtheater has
been run as a limited liability company (Ges. m. b. H.)
since that time.
\\
''Burgtheater Gallery:'' collection of portraits of members of the
Burgtheater in the course of its 200-year history.
\\
''Burgtheater Ring:</> Ring endowment founded by Jakob Lippowitz
(Concordia), publisher of the Neues Wiener Journal (Concordia Press
Club); awarded annually between 1926 and 1934 for special merits
either to a member of the Burgtheater or to a dramatist.
\\
''Doyenne or Doyen'' of the Burgtheater: special status awarded to
actresses and actors of the Burgtheater who remain life members of the
company and, on their decease, are honoured with a special funeral
according to Burgtheater tradition.
\\
''Honorary Ring'' of the Burgtheater, awarded since October 1, 1955,
at irregular intervals to members of the Burgtheater company on the
proposal of the company committee in recognition of their personal and
artistic qualities and as a sign of appreciation of their colleagues.
\\
''Spokesman of the Theatrical Company of the Burgtheater:'' in 1971
members of the theatrical company were granted the right to
participate in decisions on new recruitments and the repertoire.
\\
''Curtain-calls:'' dating back to a police ordinance from August 19,
1798, an unwritten law reigned for almost 200 years at the Burgtheater
which permitted only guest actors but no members of the Burgtheater
company to appear before the curtain in response to the applause of
the audience; this tradition was abolished in 1979.
!Literature
M. Dietrich, Das Burgtheater und sein Publikum,
vol. 1, 1976; B. 1776-1976. Auffuehrungen und Besetzungen,
2 vols., 1979; R. Urbach and A. Benning, B. 1776-1986, 1986; F.
Hadamowsky, Wien. Theatergeschichte. Von den Anfaengen bis zum Ende
des Ersten Weltkriegs, 1988; E. Grossegger, Das Burgtheater und sein
Publikum, vol. 2: Paechter und Publikum (1794-1817), 1989; H.
Beil (ed.), Weltkomoedie Oe. 13 Jahre Burgtheater, 1986-1999,
1999.
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