Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1965 - 3

From the Flames A Delayed Phoenix:
Mun ich 's Rebuilt National Theater
Glenn Loney, Brookyn College
Abstrac t: Con fronted by the dec is ion between restorati on and innovati on, Mun i ch has rebu i It its
Bavarian National Theatre as a mixture of the two.
The author's account follows visits to Munich at
various stages of the theatre's reconstruction, and
discussions with the present theatre staff. IR Code:
(Arch itectu re/R econ stru cti on/Ci vi c/Opera/Germany)

In the midst of dying flames, rising from glowing
coals and steaming ashes, so the legend goes, the
shining phoenix is a symbol of survival, of rebirth.
Munich's streets, once nightmare boulevards of bombgutted pa laces, churches and homes, have seen many
phoenixes soar aloft since the war. One of the most
imposing ruins in the Bavarian capital has taken
twenty years to spawn its mythical bird.

Common sense prevailed; classic tragedies were out
of the question. Arguments then raged over the extent and kind of reconstruction. Modernists wanted
the neo-classic shell of the house pulled down and
replaced with an opera which would express new
ideas in architecture and art. The force of tradition
is very strong in Bavaria, and older citizens were
having none of the glass-steel-concrete theatres
which have sprung up all over Germany. Among the
On November 21, 1963, the National Theatre of
points made: a number of the new houses, if not
Bavaria was rededicated with Beethoven's Consegrotesque eyesores, looked at the very least like
cration of the House, conducted by the venerable
nondescript factories; some new theatres, despite
Hans Knappertsbusch. It was a joyous occasion, by
a II manner of unusua I chande Iiers and decor, had
all accounts, but a long time to wait since that grim
poor acoustics; not a few of the postwar buildings
night of October 2, 1943, when Allied planes scored
equipped with fantastic technical devices, were still
a direct hit. American visitors to Germany shortly
not really convenient as performing stages. A fundaafter the war have noted that our bombers were quite
mental cause of these problems, it was frequently
as ski lied at hitting theatres and churches as they
charged, is many arch itects' unfami liar ity with the
were at blowing up factories and rai Iroads. Those
needs of directors, designers, singers, dancers and
tragedies were the unfortunate exigencies of tota I
musicians. Add to that a desire to make their repuwar; they are not signs of our hostility to culture.
tations with bui Idings so revolutionary, so unorthoEven though the National Theatre lay in ruins for dox that audiences would gasp at their audacity, and
two decades, Bavarians were not denied the operas you have the kernel of the Bavarian objections raised
once sung on its stage. Munich is nothing if not a against sweeping away the past.
theatre city. Light opera was played in the Gaertnerplatz Theatre; Wagner, Verdi and the heavier reper- Unveiled during the opening Festival Weeks was a
toire was heard from the Prince Regent Theatre breathtaking opera house which is a curious comstage, and the chamber operas of Mozart and Monte- promise between the neo-classic taste of King Ludverdi were handsomely mounted in the baroque wig I of Bavaria and the very latest in theatre techCuvillies Theatre. Still, the citizens were restless. nology.
They wanted the ir famous opera house rebu i It.
How successful this will be remains to be seen. If
Bavarians love a good argument, though. And appar- Bavaria was wrong to rebuild the National Theatre in
ently arguments had something to do with the delay. its former glory, it is too late now-some $15,000,000
A lover of the classics suggested that the eight later. Wandering through the glittering foyers, one is
stark Corinthian columns-all that remained of the very impressed by the effective use of color. Ivory
theatre's once imposing portico-be used as a per- and gold are standard equipment in operas, of course,
manent background for Greek tragedies. Unfortunate- but the various lobbies and staterooms are strikingly
ly for high art, Max Joseph Platz, which the theatre set off: one with deep blue, another with green, and
faces, had already become a profitable parking lot so on. Ionic columns dominate one salon. Ornate
in the heart of a busy city choked with cars. Worse Corinthian is the motif of another. It is all very
yet, the Platz is bordered by one of Munich's noisi- regal, which is just as it should be. The monogram
est traffic intersections.
of the original builder, King Max Joseph, has been

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Oct 1965