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41-586: The theatre is the host for the annual festival Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden , established in 1896 after the Bayreuth Festival . The building of the theatre was initiated and substantially supported by the German emperor William II who regularly visited the spa in Wiesbaden. A team of architects from Vienna , Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer , won the competition. They constructed

82-480: A biennial festival "Neue Stücke aus Europa" (New European Plays) is organized in collaboration with the Staatstheater Mainz , presenting in ten days new plays in the original language with simultaneous translation. The current Intendant of the company is Uwe-Eric Laufenberg, since 2014. He is scheduled to stand down from the post at the end of the 2023–2024 season. Wiesbaden's first major orchestra

123-541: A child, he was greatly influenced by Richard Strauss and Hans Knappertsbusch . In his musical education he was generously supported by his family, especially by his widowed mother, who became active again because of him, and also by his older brother. At first, he studied composition and piano privately. This enabled him to prepare for his career as a pianist and conductor before and after the Second World War without financial worries. His professional development

164-581: A festival to compare with the successful Bayreuth Festival . A festival in Spring was supposed to coincide with the emperor's regular stay at the spa to create a cultural event. The director also wanted to improve the status of his "Neues königliches Hoftheater" (New Royal Court Theatre), which relied mostly on productions from the Royal theater in Berlin. The first festival was presented from 6 to 19 May 1896, with

205-924: A music school in Bavaria, naming the school the Wolfgang Sawallisch Stiftung (Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation). He himself continued to live on his estate in Grassau in retirement. Sawallisch and his wife Mechthild were married for 46 years until her death on 24 December 1998. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI ), a family friend, officiated at her Requiem Mass . She had a son, Jörg, from her previous marriage, whom Sawallisch had adopted. Jörg died in January 2013. Sawallisch died at his home in Grassau on 22 February 2013, aged 89. Sawallisch has been acclaimed as an interpreter of

246-593: A pianist was on 11 February 1994 in Philadelphia , when Sawallisch substituted for the Philadelphia Orchestra at an all-Wagner concert on the night that a severe snow storm prevented much of the orchestra from arriving at the Academy of Music . Sawallisch's recordings for EMI include highly regarded issues of Richard Strauss 's Capriccio and the four symphonies of Robert Schumann with

287-544: A production of the Komische Oper Berlin staged by Harry Kupfer , with Jochen Kowalski in the title role. The Bolshoi Theatre presented Borodin's Prince Igor and Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina , both conducted by Alexander Lazarev . In 2008, the Teatro Regio Torino visited with Verdi's Rigoletto . In 2009, Theater Wiesbaden opened with Salome , Verdi's Nabucco was performed by

328-536: A singer in favour of her husband's career; on the one hand she suffered from standing in the shadow of the successful man, on the other hand she saw her function as his manager. After 46 years of marriage she died at the age of 77 due to her thyroid cancer. The Wolfgang Sawallisch Foundation was founded in Grassau , in Bavaria in 2003 and comprises a music school. At a benefit concert of the Bavarian State Orchestra in Grassau on 2 February 2013 under

369-808: Is a theater festival in Wiesbaden , Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the Bayreuth Festival , the festival is one of the most distinguished international theatre and music festivals in the world. It is presented annually in May at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden , the State Theatre of Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden. The festival currently features performances of operas , ballets , plays and musicals . Visiting companies, mostly from European theaters, present their recent productions along with performances of

410-541: The Bavarian State Opera , and for several years from 1983, he was concurrently its general manager. For thirty years, he was closely associated with musical events in Munich. Here he conducted practically all of the major Richard Strauss operas, Salome being the sole exception. He also conducted 32 complete cycles of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen , and is credited with nearly 1200 opera performances in

451-863: The Berliner Ensemble , the Schaubühne , Deutsches Theater and the Münchner Kammerspiele , among others. Ballet companies have included Cloud Gate Dance Theater from Taiwan, the Tanztheater Pina Bausch , Wuppertal, the Cullberg Ballet from Sweden, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Nederlands Dans Theater . Young audiences have been addressed by the series of plays "Junge Woche" (Young Week). Due to restricted funding in recent years

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492-598: The Staatskapelle Dresden . He made a quadraphonic stereo album (probably the only one ever made) of Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1973 for EMI , starring Peter Schreier as Tamino, Anneliese Rothenberger as Pamina, Walter Berry as Papageno, Edda Moser as the Queen of the Night, and Kurt Moll as Sarastro. The Queen of the Night aria from this recording was selected by NASA in 1977 to be included on

533-536: The Teatro Regio di Parma . The opening performance in 2010 was Alban Berg's Lulu , on the program for the opening of the 2011 festival on 30 April 2011 was the premiere of Ernst August Klötzke's opera Beatrice and the first performance in German of Rodion Shchedrin 's literary opera Lolita , based on Nabokov's novel , produced by the Theater Wiesbaden with Emma Pearson in the title role, in

574-801: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Metropolitan Opera , Sawallisch became Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony in 1960, a post he held for ten years. In 1961, he started conducting the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg and did this for ten years as well. From 1970 to 1980, he was music director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande . From 1971 to 1992, he was music director of

615-605: The Voyager Golden Record , a gold-plated copper record that was sent into space on the Voyager space craft . The record contained sounds and images which had been chosen as examples of the diversity of life and culture on Earth. Other recordings by Sawallisch (EMI, Orfeo, Philips, and Sony) include: His final concerts and recording project in Philadelphia were focused on the music of Robert Schumann and

656-521: The 20th century have included Strawinsky 's Le sacre du printemps and Oedipus rex and Arthur Honegger 's Judith . At the 1989 festival, the Deutsche Oper Berlin visited with three productions, the opening night was Verdi's Rigoletto , staged by Hans Neuenfels and conducted by Silvio Varviso , followed by Janáček's Katja Kabanowa and the ballet Der Blaue Engel . Hartmut Haenchen conducted Handel's opera Giustino in

697-527: The German emperor William I and the empress Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in attendance. The posters and programs showed "Festspiele auf allerhöchsten Befehl!" (Festival by the very highest order!), referring to the emperor's demand. In the beginning the focus was on the works of Richard Wagner as in Bayreuth, but different from Bayreuth works of other composers were also performed, such as Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon in 1900. The festival closed for

738-499: The Stadttheater Augsburg. During this time he married the singer Mechthild Schmid (1921–1998), daughter of the organ builder Magnus Schmid (1889–1964) from Pemmering, whom he had already met in his youth in Munich. She had a great influence on him throughout their life together. Through the adoption of her son, born in 1944, from his wife's first marriage, he founded his own family. Mechthild renounced her own career as

779-402: The Theater Wiesbaden. Concerts from a wide array of music genres are featured as well as artistic circus acts and modern dance presentations. Lectures, recitals, cabaret performances, art showings and readings are also part of the program. In 1896, the festival was established as "Kaiserfestspiele" (Imperial Festival) by Georg von Hülsen, director of the theater in Wiesbaden. He wanted to create

820-460: The baton of Kent Nagano , Sawallisch was seen in public for the last time. He gave the opera world his last press interview for the January 2013 issue. His son Jörg died in January 2013, just one month before his adoptive father. Sawallisch lived for over 50 years in Grassau in Chiemgau, Upper Bavaria, where he was also buried. The villa in Grassau, where Wolfgang Sawallisch had lived for decades,

861-530: The building from 1892 to 1894 in Baroque Revival style , following models in Prague and Zurich . The inauguration was on 16 October 1894 in the presence of the emperor. The Foyer was built in 1902 by architect Felix Genzmer  [ de ] . It serves three stages. After World War I , the theatre was renamed "Preußisches Staatstheater" (Prussian State Theatre). Since 1932, the city of Wiesbaden

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902-477: The city alone. In 1966, Eugene Ormandy , the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1936 to 1980, had invited Sawallisch to visit him. Sawallisch subsequently made several recordings there, and in 1993 succeeded Riccardo Muti as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he remained until 2003. From 2003 until his death in 2013, he held the title of Conductor Laureate with

943-531: The concert podium: "It can happen without announcement that my blood pressure is too low. This instability gives me the necessity to finish my career after 57 years of concert and opera conducting." Earlier, in 1988, he had published his autobiography "Im Interesse der Deutlichkeit" ( For the Sake of Clarity ) in which he had expounded his views on the role of a conductor. Sawallisch was an honorary member of The Robert Schumann Society. In 2003, he helped to establish

984-479: The duration of World War I. In 1928, the first festival after the war was staged by the director Paul Bekker and called "Mai-Festwoche" (Festival week in May). It presented on 6 May the premiere of three short operas by Ernst Krenek , Der Diktator , Das geheime Königreich and Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation . In 1929, the festival was called "Festwochen im Mai" (Festive Weeks in May). His main concern

1025-495: The festival. Claus Leininger , director from 1986 to 1994, invited companies from Northern Europe, Spain and North America. In 1989, when Germany was still divided, the Berlin companies Deutsche Oper Berlin from West Berlin and Komische Oper Berlin from East Berlin both showed their productions. Visiting ensembles from Eastern Europe increased even more after the opening of the Iron Curtain . Plays have been performed by

1066-437: The historic house: The staff consist of about 600 people. Annually more than 25 new operas, plays and ballets have been produced. The theatre is especially dedicated to a young audience, collaborating with schools for "Schultheatertage". A professional ensemble, "Junges Staatstheater" (Young State Theater) is dedicated to children's and youth theater. In addition to the annual Internationale Maifestspiele in May, since 2004

1107-531: The music of Richard Strauss . As a pianist, he accompanied a number of prominent singers in lieder , including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dame Margaret Price . He has also been acclaimed for his interpretations of the symphonies of Robert Schumann and Anton Bruckner . Sawallisch also recorded, as piano accompanist, Franz Schubert 's Winterreise and Robert Schumann 's Liederkreis and other songs with Thomas Hampson . One of his most celebrated live concert appearances as

1148-557: The new name. The festival was held annually since then. Traditionally the festival was opened by a new production of the Wiesbaden theatre. Starting in 1962, director Claus Helmut Drese encouraged presentations from Eastern European companies under the Motto "Fenster nach Osten" (window to the East). Guest productions of operas and ballets from Warsaw, Leningrad, Sofia, Bucharest, Moscow and the great theatres of former East Germany took place at

1189-514: The new opera house, to play exclusively opera and ballet. Conductors included: Guest conductors included Thomas Beecham , Leo Blech and Fritz Busch. Richard Strauss conducted opera almost annually. After the war, a fusion of the two orchestras under the new name Hessisches Staatsorchester was initiated and finalized by Wolfgang Sawallisch at the end of the 1950s. Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden ( International May Festival , IMF )

1230-799: The orchestra. He was also Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK Symphony Orchestra , Tokyo and for over 30 years he appeared with the orchestra annually in Tokyo. He was the recipient of a Suntory Music Award in 1993. After his tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sawallisch returned for guest-conducting appearances in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall . However, ill health related to orthostatic hypotension prevented Sawallisch from conducting in subsequent years. In an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer of 27 August 2006, Sawallisch himself stated his retirement from

1271-513: The presence of the composer. On the 2011 festival program are performances of the farewell tour of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company . The Maifestspiele 2010 had 20,700 visitors, 90.4% of the available seating capacity was sold. The budget for 2011 comprises €1,432,200. Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Wolfgang Sawallisch

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1312-465: The program was reduced, shifting to younger and more experimental performers. In 1955. the stage version of Hans Vogt 's so-called Oratorische Oper (oratorio opera) Die Stadt hinter dem Strom after the novel of Hermann Kasack was premiered. In 1962, the Opera Warsaw presented as the first visiting company from Eastern Europe the opera The Haunted Manor of Stanisław Moniuszko. Works of

1353-430: The theatre. In 1947, it was re-opened as the "Großhessisches Staatstheater" (State Theater of Great Hesse), later "Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden". From 1975 to 1978, the auditorium was restored according to the historic model. The technical equipment was modernized. A new tract was built, designed by Hardt-Waltherr Hämer, for rehearsal rooms, workshops and administration. The theatre has four stages, three of them in

1394-410: Was a regular guest conductor from 1894. The number of players was raised from 56 to 65 in 1905 to 1911. From 1912 Carl Schuricht was the conductor, appointed Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) 1921. Regular guest conductors during his era, which lasted until 1944, included Fritz Busch , Felix Weingartner , Bruno Walter and Richard Strauss . The second orchestra "Staatskapelle", was founded in 1894, with

1435-635: Was born in Munich , the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversicherung insurance company in the city. Wolfgang's brother Werner was five years older. He passed his Abitur in 1942 at the Wittelsbacher-Gymnasium in Munich . At the age of five, he was already playing the piano and by the time he was ten, he had decided he wanted to become a concert pianist. As

1476-404: Was in 1873 the "Städtisches Cur- und Sinfonieorchester" (Communal Spa and Symphony Orchestra). Its conductor from 1874 to 1905, Louis Lüstner, established besides entertaining music for the spa audience twelve symphony concerts a year. During this period Johannes Brahms , Clara Schumann , Joseph Joachim , Camille Saint-Saëns and Pablo de Sarasate appeared in concert, among others. Felix Mottl

1517-713: Was interrupted by his military service and captivity: during the war he served in the Wehrmacht , in France and Italy, and in the closing stages of the war was detained at a British POW camp in Italy. After returning home to Munich, he studied with Joseph Haas and, after one semester, passed his state examination at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Munich in 1946. He took conducting lessons with Hans Rosbaud and Igor Markevitch . He found his first job at

1558-591: Was responsible for the theatre; therefore it was renamed "Nassauisches Landestheater" (Theater of the Province Nassau ). Carl von Schirach was director until 1943. The building was seriously damaged in World War II by a bomb on 3 February 1945. The front was partially restored and the ceiling of the hall was decorated with a contemporary painting. In 1946, the State of Hesse took over the operation of

1599-719: Was taken over by the Sawallisch Foundation in 2014 and is occasionally used for concerts by the Grassau Music School. He began his career at the opera house in Augsburg in 1947. At first, he held the position of répétiteur and later became the principal conductor. In 1949, he was awarded the first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition where he accompanied the violinist Gerhard Seitz. In 1952–53 he

1640-789: Was the personal assistant to Igor Markevitch at the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum in Salzburg , Austria . He was only 30 when he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , where Herbert Karajan was then the principal conductor. When he debuted at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus conducting Tristan und Isolde in 1957, he was the youngest conductor ever to appear there. After turning down offers to join

1681-569: Was to stress the achievement of the Wiesbaden theatre. From 4 to 21 May 1929, the festival presented the opera Die ägyptische Helena of Richard Strauss, which had premiered the year before at the Semperoper . Under Nazism , the festival was held until 1939 as part of the Gaukulturwochen . The director was Carl von Schirach . In 1950, the first festival after World War II was the first with an international approach, reflected in

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