Bayreuth’s Baroque Jewel: The Margravial Opera House

The renovation cost 30 million euros (34 million US$)- now the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth shines brighter than ever. In addition to it being a museum, the Opera House is mainly used for concerts and drama performances during the summer months. Thus Bayreuth has a further touristic highlight next to Richard Wagner's Festspielhaus on the Green Hill.

The Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth was built between 1746 to 1750 by the leading theatre architect in Europe, Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, and his son Carlo. In 2012, UNESCO made the opera house a world heritage site as the most significant and best-preserved example of a Baroque theatre.

The Margravine Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Kulmbach wanted to turn Bayreuth into a brilliant cultural metropolis, and commissioned the building as part of her efforts. She was especially passionate about music.

Lavish use of gold in the decoration defines the auditorium. In the center is the royal box. Where the building’s size and magnificence were concerned, the art-loving Wilhemine looked to the great European festival theatres of her era in Vienna, Dresden, Paris and Venice as models.

The opera house officially opened in 1748 on the occasion of the marriage of Margravine Wilhemine’s only daughter, with the premiere of the Italian opera “Artaserse,” by Johann Adolph Hasse. In addition to operas, splendid pageants and dance performances took place in the Baroque theatre. Nowadays it remains a lively venue.

The auditorium of tiered boxes or loges, with its structure of wood and illusionistic painted canvas, is also considered unique in the world because of its profuse carvings and decorations. The opera house has survived in its original form – a stroke of luck, as Baroque ceremonial theatres were often built only for a single lavish performance.

In Wilhemine’s era, candles lit up the tiered loges. In the late 19th century, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who was in love with technology, had the first electric lighting installed. Ultimately, the Margravial Opera House was the reason Richard Wagner came to Bayreuth, although in the end it proved to be unsuitable for his ideas on staging.

Before the overall renovation, a dark varnish covered the auditorium surfaces. That was, among other things, due to mistakes in restoration in the 20th century. Now that the later layers of paint and grime have been removed, the auditorium in 2018 has regained its old brightness and splendor.

During the restoration of the proscenium arch stage, additions from the 1930s were also removed, so that, since the opera house reopened on April 12th, 2018, present-day audiences can experience it almost exactly as people did in Wilhemine’s times.