Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Kaiser Wilhelm II, a regular guest at the Wiesbaden spa, initiated the building of a new court theatre, constructed from 1892 to 1894 by the Viennese theatre specialists Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for 1.8 million goldmarks. It opened on October 16, 1894 in the emperor's presence, and Felix Genzmer added the sumptuous foyer in 1902. A bombing raid seriously damaged the building on February 3, 1945; between 1975 and 1978 the auditorium was restored to its historic form and the stage technology modernized. Today the Staatstheater plays on four stages, the largest seating 1,041.
The house's calling card is the Internationale Maifestspiele, a festival founded in 1896 on the Bayreuth model. Die Zauberflöte holds a firm place in the repertoire: the current staging by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, created during his years as Intendant, reads Tamino's trials as a path toward the light of Enlightenment, and revivals are scheduled into the 2026-27 season.
architect: Fellner & Helmer
On stage here
7 dates
Performance dates
Video
Trailer | »Die Zauberflöte«
Data: open sources (opera houses, ticketing platforms, Wikidata). Part of the worldwide Die Zauberflöte map.