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About
The Zurich Opera House*(German: Opernhaus Zurich*) is an opera house in Zurich, Switzerland, the location of the Zurich Opera since 1891.
The first permanent theater, Aktientheatre, was built in 1834 and was the focus of Wagner's activity during his exile from Germany. It burned down in 1890, and the troupe moved to a rebuilt theater called Stadttheater Zürich (Zürich City Theatre). This theatre, which was the city's main venue for drama, operas and musical performances, until 1925 was renamed the Zürich Opera House, and a separate building was constructed.
In the early 70s of the 20th century, the Opera House building needed major repairs, and there was a view that restoring the theatre was impracticable, so the idea of constructing a new theatre was proposed. Nevertheless, between 1982 and 1984, it was rebuilt, and mass protests occurred in the city over the reconstruction. The renovated theatre began its work by staging Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and the premiere of Rudolf Kelterbor's Swiss opera "Der Kirschgarten" (based on Anton Chekhov's play).
Following the reconstruction, the theatre building became a beautifully decorated structure with neoclassic facades of white and grey stone, decorated with busts of Mozart, Weber and Wagner. Busts of Goethe, Schiller and Shakespeare are also present. The auditorium has a Rococo style interior and can hold about 1200 people.
Today, the Zürich Opera is a public company funded by the canton of Zürich, with major Swiss banks as major sponsors.
