Stadttheater Magdeburg was the municipal theatre of Magdeburg, Germany. It was opened in 1878, was at times of national importance for operas, and was destroyed during World War II.

Venue: Stadttheater Magdeburg
Town: Magdeburg, DE

Stadttheater Magdeburg was the municipal theatre of Magdeburg, Germany. It was opened in 1878, was at times of national importance for operas, and was destroyed during World War II. Between 1873 and 1876, a new municipal theatre was built on the site of the previously demolished fortifications on Kaiserstraße. The client was a joint-stock company which had been founded specifically for this purpose. Richard Lucae, the director of the Bauakademie, was responsible for the planning. The stage machinery was built by the E. Schwerdtfeger company from Darmstadt, which also worked for Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus. The theatre seated 1200 people. The opening took place on 6 May 1876, with Goethe's Egmont. The first theatre manager (Intendant), and also chief director (Oberregisseur) was Friedrich Schwemer in 1876/1877. The theatre covered the three genres of opera, operetta and plays. The program of the first season was mostly conservative, playing Weber's Der Freischütz, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and Beethoven' Fidelio, among others, including a total of 19 operas. The only risk-taking performance was Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's play En fallit, resulting in a financial fiasco. Schwemer had to file bankruptcy and was dismissed. Ludwig Ubrich tried from 1877 until 1882 to run the theatre economically sound, with simpler productions. Efforts were made to have the town take over the theatre. Adolf Varena staged from 1882 until 1891 large productions including works by Wagner, exclusively with the company's own ensemble. In 1890, the town of Magdeburg became the owner of the property, and leased the theatre for 30 years. Mayor Friedrich Bötticher became chairman of the administrative committee. In 1891, Varena moved to the Stadttheater Königsberg in Königsberg, which he directed until his death. Arno Cabisius continued from 1891 until 1907 the theatre's artistic rise, presenting a production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle, and a cycle of Mozart operas, ga