Darmstadt State Theater

About

The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its history began in 1711 with a court theatre building. From 1919 it was run as Landestheater Darmstadt. The present theatre was opened in 1972 when the company was named Staatstheater.

The theatre dates back more than 300 years. It was originally a court theatre at the residence of the county Darmstadt. At a request by Elisabeth Dorothea von Hessen-Darmstadt a first theatre building in Darmstadt was opened in 1711 with Christoph Graupner's opera Telemach.

Großherzogliches Hoftheater Karolinenplatz: About a century later, Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, built a court theatre open to the citizens. The architect Georg Moller built a theatre with 2000 seats and advanced stage machinery, opened in 1819. It burnt down in 1871 and was restored in seven years.

Landestheater Karolinenplatz: In 1919 the theatre became a Landestheater. The former building was made the small stage (Kleines Haus). Director Gustav Hartung (1920–1924 and 1931–1933) made...