Burgtheater

==History==

==History==

[[Image:Michaelerplatz altes Burgtheater.jpg|thumb|The old Burgtheater (before 1888)]]

[[Image:Michaelerplatz altes Burgtheater.jpg|thumb|The old Burgtheater (before 1888)]]

[[File:Klimt - Burgtheater Auditorium.jpg|thumb|[[Gustav Klimt]]'s ''[[Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater]]'' ''(1888–1889)'']]

[[File:Klimt - Burgtheater Auditorium.jpg|thumb|[[Gustav Klimt]]'s ''[[Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater]]'' (1888–1889)]]

[[Image:Wiener Burgtheater alt.jpg|thumb|Burgtheater (right after its construction)]]

[[Image:Wiener Burgtheater alt.jpg|thumb|Burgtheater (right after its construction)]]

[[Image:Wien Burgtheater side view.jpg|thumb|Burgtheater (side)]]

[[Image:Wien Burgtheater side view.jpg|thumb|Burgtheater (side)]]

The original Burgtheater was set up in a [[Real tennis|tennis court]] (called a 'ball house' at the time) that the Roman-German king and later emperor [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] had built in 1540 in the lower pleasure garden of the [[Hofburg]] after the old ball house fell victim to a fire in 1525.{{Cite web|title=Theatre Database / Theatre Architecture – database, projects|url=https://www.theatre-architecture.eu/en/db/?theatreId=323#:~:text=Today%27s%20Burgtheater%20as%20such%20was,German%20National%20Theatre%20in%201776.|access-date=5 June 2020|website=www.theatre-architecture.eu}}{{cite web | url = https://www.real-tennis.nl/royal-tennis-courts/austria | title = Real Tennis History - Austria | website = Real Tennis History | access-date = 31 July 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210123032748/https://www.real-tennis.nl/royal-tennis-courts/austria | archive-date = 23 January 2021}}

The original Burgtheater was set up in a [[Real tennis|tennis court]] (called a 'ball house' at the time) that the Roman-German king and later emperor [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] had built in 1540 in the lower pleasure garden of the [[Hofburg]] after the old ball house fell victim to a fire in 1525.{{Cite web|title=Theatre Database / Theatre Architecture – database, projects|url=https://www.theatre-architecture.eu/en/db/?theatreId=323#:~:text=Today%27s%20Burgtheater%20as%20such%20was,German%20National%20Theatre%20in%201776.|access-date=5 June 2020|website=www.theatre-architecture.eu}}{{cite web | url = https://www.real-tennis.nl/royal-tennis-courts/austria | title = Real Tennis History - Austria | website = Real Tennis History | access-date = 31 July 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210123032748/https://www.real-tennis.nl/royal-tennis-courts/austria | archive-date = 23 January 2021}}

The theater opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of the [[Habsburg]] Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]], who wanted a theater next to her palace. Her son, Emperor [[Joseph II of Austria|Joseph II]], called it the "German National Theater" in 1776. Three [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] [[operas]] premiered there: ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (1782), ''[[Le nozze di Figaro]]'' (1786), and ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (1790), as well as his [[Piano Concerto No. 24 (Mozart)|Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor]] (1786). Beginning in 1794, the theater was called the "K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg". [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)|1st Symphony]] premiered there on 2 April 1800. The last performance, in October 1888, was of [[Iphigenia in Tauris (Goethe)|Goethe's ''Iphigenie auf Tauris'']].[http://www.habsburger.net/en/chapter/our-revels-now-are-ended-old-burgtheater-moves-its-new-premises-ring?language=de ''Wiener Tagblatt'', 13 October 1888]Yates, W.E., ''Theater in Vienna: A Critical History, 1776–1995'', Cambridge University Press; New edition (21 Aug 2008). p.81 The theatre's small size provided it with exceptional acoustics, but it had long been unable to accommodate its growing audience. In 1884, one description noted that it was "neither remarkable by comfort, nor by elegance. The [auditorium], which is a great deal too small, can hardly contain the half of the spectators who should like to enter."{{Cite book |last=Klimt |first=Gustav |url=http://archive.org/details/gustavklimtmoder0000klim |title=Gustav Klimt, modernism in the making |date=2001 |publisher=New York : H.N. Abrams in association with National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-88884-718-8 |page=75}}

The theater opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of the [[Habsburg]] Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]], who wanted a theater next to her palace. Her son, Emperor [[Joseph II of Austria|Joseph II]], called it the "German National Theater" in 1776. Three [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] [[operas]] premiered there: {{Lang|de|[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]}} (1782), {{Lang|it|[[Le nozze di Figaro]]}} (1786), and {{Lang|it|[[Così fan tutte]]}} (1790), as well as his [[Piano Concerto No. 24 (Mozart)|Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor]] (1786). Beginning in 1794, the theater was called the "K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg". [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)|1st Symphony]] premiered there on 2 April 1800. The last performance, in October 1888, was of [[Iphigenia in Tauris (Goethe)|Goethe's ''Iphigenie auf Tauris'']].[http://www.habsburger.net/en/chapter/our-revels-now-are-ended-old-burgtheater-moves-its-new-premises-ring?language=de ''Wiener Tagblatt'', 13 October 1888]Yates, W.E., ''Theater in Vienna: A Critical History, 1776–1995'', Cambridge University Press; New edition (21 Aug 2008). p.81 The theatre's small size provided it with exceptional acoustics, but it had long been unable to accommodate its growing audience. In 1884, one description noted that it was "neither remarkable by comfort, nor by elegance. The [auditorium], which is a great deal too small, can hardly contain the half of the spectators who should like to enter."{{Cite book |last=Klimt |first=Gustav |url=http://archive.org/details/gustavklimtmoder0000klim |title=Gustav Klimt, modernism in the making |date=2001 |publisher=New York : H.N. Abrams in association with National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-88884-718-8 |page=75}}

The theater's first building adjoined the [[Hofburg]] at Michaelerplatz, opposite [[St. Michael's Church, Vienna|St. Michael's Church]]. It was moved to a new building at the [[Ringstraße]] on 14 October 1888, designed by [[Gottfried Semper]] and [[Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer]]. The interiors of the new Burgtheater were decorated with frescoes by [[Gustav Klimt]], [[Ernst Klimt]], and [[Franz von Matsch]], depicting theatrical history, from [[Sophocles]]'s ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]'' to [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Globe Theatre]] as well as the drama of [[Molière]].{{cite web| url = https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-burgtheater-cycle-of-paintings-burgtheater/UwWBiFk_Ivy0Kw?hl=en| title = The Burgtheater Cycle of Paintings| author = Burgtheater| access-date = 12 October 2025| website = artsandculture.google.com}}

The theater's first building adjoined the [[Hofburg]] at Michaelerplatz, opposite [[St. Michael's Church, Vienna|St. Michael's Church]]. It was moved to a new building at the [[Ringstraße]] on 14 October 1888, designed by [[Gottfried Semper]] and [[Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer]]. The interiors of the new Burgtheater were decorated with frescoes by [[Gustav Klimt]], [[Ernst Klimt]], and [[Franz von Matsch]], depicting theatrical history, from [[Sophocles]]'s ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]'' to [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Globe Theatre]] as well as the drama of [[Molière]].{{cite web| url = https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-burgtheater-cycle-of-paintings-burgtheater/UwWBiFk_Ivy0Kw?hl=en| title = The Burgtheater Cycle of Paintings| author = Burgtheater| access-date = 12 October 2025| website = artsandculture.google.com}}

[[File:Theaterchronik Wien 1774 Titel.jpg|thumb]]

[[File:Theaterchronik Wien 1774 Titel.jpg|thumb]]

Before 1776, the theater had been leased from the state by Johann [[House of Koháry|Koháry]]. After encountering financial difficulties in 1773, he convinced Joseph [[House of Keglević|Keglevich]] to act as curator. The director of the theater, Wenzel [[House of Sporck|Sporck]], who was the great nephew of [[Franz Anton von Sporck|Franz Anton Sporck]], who had brought the [[french horn]] and [[Antonio Vivaldi]] to [[Prague]], established a committee to finance the theater under the chairmanship of Franz Keglevich in 1773, and Karl Keglevich became the director of the [[Theater am Kärntnertor]] in 1773. Joseph Keglevich declared the theater bankrupt in 1776 and the state, under [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]], took over its operation in 1776. Wenzel Sporck and Franz Keglevich were released from their duties in 1776 and the [[University of Trnava]], whose rector was Alexander Keglevich in the year 1770/71, received permission to move into the [[Buda Castle]]. Until 1776, the theater had been financed [[de facto]], but not [[de jure]], by the University of Trnava of the [[Society of Jesus]], which were suppressed by the order of [[Pope Clement XIV]] in 1773. [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] decided on 4 July 1792 to lease the theater again, but couldn't find a tenant. Finally, [[Ferdinánd Pálffy]] became the tenant in 1794, until 1817; his finances originated from the mining institute in [[Banská Štiavnica]], the first technical university in the world.''Briefe an ihre Kinder und Freunde'', Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria; Alfred Ritter von Arneth, Verlag: Braumüller, Wien 1881.''Katalog der Portrait-Sammlung der k.u.k. General-Intendanz der k.k. Hoftheater: zugleich ein biographisches Hilfsbuch auf dem Gebiet von Theater und Musik'', Burgtheater, Wien 1892, A. W. Künast''Alt und Neu Wien: Geschichte der österreichischen Kaiserstadt'', Band 2, von Karl Eduard Schimmer, Horitz Bermann, Wien 1904, p. 215''Théâtre, nation & société en Allemagne au XVIIIe siècle'', Roland Krebs, Jean Marie Valentin, Presses universitaires de Nancy, 1990.''Ungarische Revue'', Volume 11, p. 53, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Franklin-Verein, 1891.

Before 1776, the theater had been leased from the state by Johann [[House of Koháry|Koháry]]. After encountering financial difficulties in 1773, he convinced Joseph [[House of Keglević|Keglevich]] to act as curator. The director of the theater, Wenzel [[House of Sporck|Sporck]], who was the great nephew of [[Franz Anton von Sporck|Franz Anton Sporck]], who had brought the [[french horn]] and [[Antonio Vivaldi]] to [[Prague]], established a committee to finance the theater under the chairmanship of Franz Keglevich in 1773, and Karl Keglevich became the director of the [[Theater am Kärntnertor]] in 1773. Joseph Keglevich declared the theater bankrupt in 1776 and the state, under [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]], took over its operation in 1776. Wenzel Sporck and Franz Keglevich were released from their duties in 1776 and the [[University of Trnava]], whose rector was Alexander Keglevich in the year 1770/71, received permission to move into the [[Buda Castle]]. Until 1776, the theater had been financed [[de facto]], but not [[de jure]], by the University of Trnava of the [[Society of Jesus]], which were suppressed by the order of [[Pope Clement XIV]] in 1773. [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] decided on 4 July 1792 to lease the theater again, but could not find a tenant. Finally, [[Ferdinánd Pálffy]] became the tenant in 1794, until 1817; his finances originated from the mining institute in [[Banská Štiavnica]], the first technical university in the world.''Briefe an ihre Kinder und Freunde'', Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria; Alfred Ritter von Arneth, Verlag: Braumüller, Wien 1881.''Katalog der Portrait-Sammlung der k.u.k. General-Intendanz der k.k. Hoftheater: zugleich ein biographisches Hilfsbuch auf dem Gebiet von Theater und Musik'', Burgtheater, Wien 1892, A. W. Künast''Alt und Neu Wien: Geschichte der österreichischen Kaiserstadt'', Band 2, von Karl Eduard Schimmer, Horitz Bermann, Wien 1904, p. 215''Théâtre, nation & société en Allemagne au XVIIIe siècle'', Roland Krebs, Jean Marie Valentin, Presses universitaires de Nancy, 1990.''Ungarische Revue'', Volume 11, p. 53, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Franklin-Verein, 1891.

{| class="wikitable"

{| class="wikitable"

{{Commons category|Burgtheater}}

{{Commons category|Burgtheater}}

* {{official website|burgtheater.at}}

* {{official website|burgtheater.at}}

* [http://www.earthinpictures.com/world/austria/vienna/burgtheater_(castle_theatre).html Burgtheater information and photography]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070303121045/http://www.earthinpictures.com/world/austria/vienna/burgtheater_(castle_theatre).html Burgtheater information and photography]

* {{PM20|FID=co/041956|TEXT=Documents and clippings about the|NAME=}}

* {{PM20|FID=co/041956|TEXT=Documents and clippings about the|NAME=}}