Bürgertheater

The Bürgertheater was a theatre in Vienna.

The Wiener Bürgertheater was erected in 1905 in the Third District (3 Bezirk), at Vordere Zollamtsstraße 13. It was designed by the architects Franz von Krauss and Josef Tölk. The official opening took place on December 7, 1905, with the performance of "Der alte Herr" ("The Old Man"), by Beatrice Dvorsky. The mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, was present.

The first director was the actor and author Oskar Fronz, who managed the theatre until his death in 1925. At first it was not successful, and in 1910 Fronz adapted the Bürgertheater for operetta performances. Edmund Eysler became the house composer. From 1926, Revue-operettas were common, particularly featuring Karl Farkas and his partner, Fritz Grünbaum. The theatre was closed in the early years of the Second World War, but was reopened in 1942, under the direction of Robert Valberg.

In September 1945, Franz Stoss took over the directorship, and the Bürgertheater became a satellite theatre for the Theater in der Josefstadt. In 1953, a new director Harald Röbbeling renamed the Bürgertheater "Broadwaybühne" ("Broadway-stage") in an attempt to give it a new direction - but this resulted in a financial fiasco and the theatre had to be closed down. The building was subsequently used, among other uses, to house the transmission hub for the American occupying force. It was also used for a sales exhibition which had previously been at the Vienna stock exchange.

During the 1959-61 great "death of the theatres" in Vienna - in which the Wiener Stadttheater (in Laudongasse) and the "Scala", the former Johann Strauss Theater, were also affected - the Bürgertheater was demolished in 1960. The headquarters of a Viennese bank, "Zentralsparkasse der Gemeinde Wien", was erected on the site, with a bridge over the adjoining slip road, designed by Arthur Perotti and Anton Potyka.

Premieres

*"Der unsterbliche Lump" by Edmund Eysler, 15 October 1910
*"Der gute Kamerad" by Emmerich Kálmán, 27 October 1911
*"Der Frauenfresser" by Edmund Eysler, 23 December 1911
*"Der lachende Ehemann" by Edmund Eysler, 19 March 1913
*"Ein Tag im Paradies" by Edmund Eysler, 23 December 1913
*"Frühling am Rhein" by Edmund Eysler, 10 October 1914
*"Die -- oder keine" by Edmund Eysler, 9 October 1915
*"Der berühmte Gabriel" by Edmund Eysler, 8 November 1916
*"Der dunkle Schatz" by Edmund Eysler, 14 November 1918
*"Der fidele Geiger" by Edmund Eysler, 17 January 1919
*"Der ledige Schwiegersohn" by Edmund Eysler, 20 April 1923
*"Clo-Clo" by Franz Lehár, 6 March 1924
*"Das Land der Liebe" by Edmund Eysler, 27 August 1926
*"Ihr erster Ball" by Edmund Eysler, 21 November 1929
*"Donauliebchen" by Edmund Eysler, 25 December 1932
*"Wiener Musik" by Edmund Eysler, 22 December 1947

Bibliography

* Dieter Klein, Martin Kupf, Robert Schediwy, "Stadtbildverluste Wien - Ein Rückblick auf fünf Jahrzehnte" ("Image loss in the city of Vienna - a retrospection through five decades"). Vienna, 2005 ISBN 3-8258-7754-x

ources

Most of the information in this article is taken from the [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bürgertheater German Wikipedia article] .

External links

* [http://www.ki3.at/bezirksinfo_ge_bau_35.htm Full history of the Bürgertheater and photography from the 1940s.]
* [http://www.operetta-research-center.org/main.php?task=mail_art&tab=2&id=00089 Operetta Research Center article on Edmund Eylser]