Schiller Theater

History

The Schiller Theater was built from 1905 to 1906 according to plans by the Munich theatre architect Max Littmann for the Schiller-Theater AG and the town of Charlottenburg.

The sculptural decoration was designed by the sculptors Düll and Petzold, and the decoration of the auditorium and the painted curtain is from Julius Mössel.

Professor Raphael Löwenfeld was the initiator and founding manager. The 1,194-seat theatre was opened on 1 January 1907 with Die Räuber by Friedrich Schiller, and continued to be run by the Schiller-Theater-Gesellschaft with their own theatre company.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the building was the second venue of the Preußisches Staatstheater Berlin, whose main venue was the Schauspielhaus am Gendarmenmarkt.

From 1937 to 1938, the theatre was extensively rebuilt for the city of Berlin by Paul Baumgarten. Baumgarten simplified the facade and the auditorium considerably, changing the appearance of the theatre with respect to the New Objectivity of the 1920s, but also in line with the prevailing monumental architectural trend of National Socialism. A government box was incorporated. The sculptors Paul Scheurich and Karl Nocke and the painter Albert Birkle were involved in the conversion.

From the re-opening with Schiller's Kabale und Liebe in 1938 the theatre was run as the Schiller-Theater der Reichshauptstadt Berlin. The actor Heinrich George was the manager, under the pseudonym of Heinrich Schmitz.

The theatre was destroyed in an air strike on 23 November 1943. From 1950 to 1951, it was rebuilt for the city of Berlin according to plans by the architects Heinz Völker and Rolf Grosse.

Some parts of the ruins of the old theatre were re-used for the new construction. At the re-opening on 6 September 1951, Schiller's Wilhelm Tell was performed.

The new Schiller Theater had 1,067 seats, and was, as the Großes Haus, the main venue for the Staatlichen Schauspielbühnen Berlin, which used the Schlossparktheater in Steglitz as the Kleines Haus, its second venue. It also used the Schiller-Theater Werkstatt in the building of the Schiller Theater (now a secondary venue of the GRIPS-Theater), and the Ballhaus Rixdorf as further venues. Among the famous managers were Heinrich George, Boleslaw Barlog, Hans Lietzau, Boy Gobert and Heribert Sasse

Notable directors included Gustaf Gründgens, Jürgen Fehling, Samuel Beckett, Fritz Kortner, Boleslaw Barlog, Hans Lietzau, Karl Paryla, George Tabori, Hans Neuenfels, Hans Hollmann and Peter Zadek.

In 1993, the Schiller Theater was closed on a decision of the Senate of Berlin because of the financial difficulties of Berlin, and all permanently employed staff and artists (including Bernhard Minetti, Erich Schellow and Sabine Sinjen) were dismissed. The closure of the largest German-speaking stage sparked protest and resentment, and the Senator for Culture at that time, Ulrich Roloff-Momin, was given the name "Schiller-Killer". It was then used as a venue for musicals and guest theatre performances.

From January to October 2000, the Maxim-Gorki-Theater used the stage of the Schiller Theater.

The last performance of the state theatre there was the premiere of the play Weißalles und Dickedumm by Coline Serreau with Katharina Thalbach.

Replacement venue for the Staatsoper

When the Staatsoper Unter den Linden had to close on May 31, 2010 for renovation, the company and the Staatskapelle Berlin were accommodated in the Schiller Theater. The reconstruction work began in June 2010 and is expected to cost 239 million euros. The Staatsoper is expected to stay at the Schiller Theater for three years.

The first opera premiere in the temporary venue took place on 3 October 2010.

Actors

The actors who have appeared in leading roles in the Schiller Theater include the following:

Notable premieres