Stage art for all - not only for experienced theatre and opera lovers

There are two playhouses on the bridges: one at the Frankfurt Fair (Messe Frankfurt) performs mainly international plays in original versions, and the other on the North Arm has a traditional European repertoire in German. Furthermore, there are two opera houses, one of which performs operas, musicals, operettas as well as concerts from Europe, while the other does not limit itself to this but also presents musical stage art from all over the world. An open-air stage in the far west of the Frankfurt Bridges rounds off the play possibilities on the bridges with traditional stage art of all kinds.

All five houses or stages have in common that the performances focus on the respective play in its original version and not on the staging of the contemporary director or artistic director, so that even less experienced viewers can grasp the core messages of the plays without being distracted or irritated by interpretive or alienating stagings. In order to attract the largest possible number of people, extremely long plays are also shortened if necessary.

On the Frankfurt Bridges there are two opera houses, two theatres and one open-air stage

While one opera house on the Frankfurt Bridges focuses on traditional European operas and operettas, the other opera house is used for musical guest performances from all over the world.

The focus of the theatres is also divided: One theatre presents exclusively German-language plays, while the other offers plays from all over the world in their respective mother tongues. The international guest ensembles for this will be accommodated in specially designed accommodations on the Frankfurt Bridges.

For the open-air theatre at Frankfurt's Westrkreuz, the focus is on European classical dramas, from Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Schiller.

What all the performances have in common is that they stick as closely as possible to the original in their staging and that no deliberate alienation effects or interpretative aspects are added by the artistic directors.

There are five large stages on the Frankfurt Bridges, complementing the already existing rich cultural program in Frankfurt

The largest stage is that of the opera house on the West Arm of the bridges

A stage for European operas, musicals, operettas and also occasional concerts or ballet performances is being created there. The building is based on the old Schauspielhaus (Playhouse) in Frankfurt on today's Willy-Brandt-Platz, which was badly damaged during the war and was partly demolished in the 1960s and partly integrated into the new building visible today.

There is hope that the old Schauspielhaus in Frankfurt will be rebuilt

In a citizens' petition, over 18,000 citizens had campaigned for the reconstruction or the uncovering of the former facade within 8 weeks. If the building is rebuilt, it can serve as a model and inspiration for the opera house on the Frankfurt Bridges - just like Seeling's other playhouses.

The old Frankfurt Schauspielhaus was designed by the experienced architect Heinrich Seeling, who also built numerous other theatres in Germany.

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With only 1,600 square metres of floor space, the Bridge-Opera House will be smaller than its larger predecessors, but with 300 square metres it will have a stage of almost comparable size and an auditorium that is also almost as spacious

In all performances the original pieces are in the focus and not a modern or interpretive staging

Costumes and stage design are contemporary, as are all the props and the behaviour of the performers: Tosca does not kill Scarpia with a shot from a pistol, Carmen does not talk on a mobile phone, the overture of The Magic Flute is not played over the radio and Donna Elvira does not bare her breasts on stage (even if Mozart himself would undoubtedly have thought that to be great). In the opera house on the bridges, all performers, directors and stage managers concentrate on one thing only: to render the respective piece as faithfully as possible for the audience. The only significant modification that occasionally occurs - especially in the case of extremely long operas – could be a shortening similar to an evening of arias: Certain arias or dialogues are omitted in such a way that, with the help of supplementary explanations inserted, the context of the content is not lost. These "special performances" are aimed not only at children and young people, for whom such modifications are often made, but also at audiences unfamiliar with opera, who would certainly listen to Tannhäuser, but not for four hours. The aim is to bring opera closer to these groups, as well.

Bulgarin - 123rf.com - Ukraine Dnipro Oper und Ballet Theatre

Bulgarin - shutterstock- Rigoletto - Dnipro Oper und Ballet Theatre

Why do tradition-bound performances usually reach a wider audience than ultra-modern productions?

Those who have never seen or heard The Magic Flute are initially fully occupied with taking away the opera's core messages.

Many people from educationally disadvantaged households have an excellent understanding of music and culture, which is quite sufficient to appreciate and enjoy even classical pieces.

However, if this is combined with ideas from professionally versed artistic directors that are already designed for interpretation and reception in line with contemporary fashionable trends, this is distracting, confusing and, in the worst case, even off-putting.

Since the Frankfurt Bridges want to reach out to all people and take them along, the focus of a stage performance on the bridges is not on the artistic expression of the respective artistic director, but on that of the original creator of the stage play.

The second opera house is located on the North Arm of the Frankfurt Bridges

With around 1,300 square metres of floor space, this building is admittedly somewhat smaller than its sister-building on the West Arm of the Frankfurt Bridges.

However, due to its more compact design, it has a slightly larger stage at over 340sqm, making it more suitable for dance performances in particular.

The opera house for guest performances from all over the world

Dance, musicals, operas and operettas from all over the world are performed in the opera house on the North Arm. The focus is on performances that are very famous in their respective countries, but hardly known in Germany.

Since all plays are performed in their original language, this should attract audiences of the respective nationalities from all parts of Germany, as such performances are rarely offered far from home.

Sean Fanning - https://seanfanningdesign.com -In the Height – Latino Musical

It is often difficult to choose a guest performance with a production that is as true to the original as possible

The ballet Giselle is a fine example of how purist performance without distracting scenery can emphasize the drama of a piece.

But even in this case, for an audience unaccustomed to ballet, expressive sets and striking costumes are a relief to follow the mood and progression of the piece.

The Frankfurt Bridges have a German-language and an international playhouse

The Schauspielhaus at the Frankfurt Fair (Frankfurter Messe) on the bridges focuses on international plays in the respective original language; the one on the North Arm, on the other hand, presents all plays from Germany (and from abroad in German language) only.

The most prominent plays from other countries will be performed at the fair: a popular classic from the past and an extremely successful play from this century.

For foreign fellow citizens, who often haven't had the opportunity to hear a play in their mother tongue for decades, this is a welcome change from the German-language cultural offerings. It also gives them the opportunity to introduce a piece of their homeland to children and young people from their cultural circle, who have often never heard a play in the mother tongue of their parents or relatives.

Frankfurt has always been an extremely international city and has a large number of fellow citizens from almost every country who can take advantage of such an offer: Whether Albanian, Urdu, Finnish, Vietnamese or Greek or any other language in the world - the theatre is an important part of cultural identity everywhere and thus also a great enrichment for a relevant part of the fellow citizens.

Since there is no stage of this kind in Germany to date, this offer is also likely to attract many people to Frankfurt.

The Messe Schauspielhaus (playhouse at the Frankfurt fair) is planned in the conventional theatre architecture of the mid-19th century

The exterior of the playhouse rotunda can be designed to correspond to the half-rotunda of the old Frankfurt trade fair centre.

The FrankfurtSchauspielhaus on the North Arm of the Frankfurt Bridges

Even before the Schauspielhaus on Willy-Brandt-Platz, Frankfurt had a smaller theatre on the north side of the Roßmarkt. With the construction of the new large playhouse in 1902, it lost its function and was demolished in 1911.

The classicist building from 1772 was typical of Frankfurt's architecture of the time and provided space for around 1000 spectators. The Schauspielhaus on the North Arm of the Frankfurt Bridges is based on the architecture of this building.

The same applies to the two theatres on the bridges: The only one who is allowed to express him- or herself artistically (usually post mortem) is the creator of the respective play

The selection of plays at the Schauspielhaus on the North Arm is focused purely on classics of the theatrical arts, performed in German- language: From The Miser and The Servant of Two Masters, Emilia Galotti and Nathan the Wise, Mary Stuart and The Broken Pitcher, through Woyzeck and Salome, Pygmalion and Blood Wedding, Mother Courage and Death of a Salesman, to Waiting for Godot, The Visit of the Old Lady, etc., a colorful variety of standard plays that are part of general education are performed at a high level.

The challenge here is also to attract an audience that doesn't usually go to the theatre. Correspondingly, Mother Courage does not speak in an implied Alcoholics Anonymous circle, and no one gets naked in Shakespeare's "What You Will." The only significant change that can be made to some very long plays from the old days is again to cut them - but to such a small extent, or so cleverly done, that the plot remains unaffected and thus comprehensible.

In the case of classical plays, it is advisable - similar to the classical music programme in the music pavilions - to make background information available to the audience via QR codes: a one or two-minute explanation of the time and circumstances in which the play was written by the author and which central themes and issues it deals with. This can be supplemented by a second QR code, which can be used to call up further explanations on more sophisticated literary-historical references or historical backgrounds.

The open-air theatre on the West Arm of the bridges is similar in design and size to the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London

The focus here is on dramas such as those by Shakespeare or also Aeschylus, Sophocles and Europides, all of which are also traditionally performed on open-air stages.

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre - Haworth Tompkins

The general conditions for a lower open-air stage surrounded by large old trees are also given on the Frankfurt Bridges

An amphi theatre requires a slope upwards from the stage, which is possible here as the upper rows of seats start at 6 metres clear bridge height and can then slope down towards the lower stage. This can be built 2 metres above ground level as there is no road below it. Accordingly, the trees that are already there today can frame this stage picturesquely.

In the case of guest appearances, large ensembles often have to be invited because of the language requirements

While guest performances by German-speaking groups of artists can often be supplemented by actors on site, this is usually not possible with foreign-language ensembles. Since some plays require a large number of actors, artists' guest houses are specially provided on the Frankfurt Bridges near the stages.

Both opera houses and both playhouses are surrounded by residential buildings

Around the venues marked with circles are residential buildings (coloured blue), some of which are made available to visiting actors during their stay.

Also in the immediate vicinity are restaurants, cafés and small grocery stores (colored purple because ground floor includes non-residential and upper floors residential tenancy).

The range of stages on the Frankfurt Bridges fills gaps in the cultural offering

Fellow citizens of foreign origin often do not have the linguistic basis to understand German-language theatre or German songs, or simply do not relate to performances that do not come from their homeland. For them, the Frankfurt Bridges in the North offer a musical programme from a wide variety of countries; and in a theatre at the Messe (Frankfurt Fair) plays in different languages are performed every two to three weeks.

Thus, in the international Rhine-Main region, there is also a suitable cultural program for these fellow citizens.

And for all people who have learned the respective language as a foreign language, it is also a unique opportunity to be able to enjoy their acquired language skills as an audience member in the context of such a performance.

Furthermore, a German-language playhouse and a European-oriented opera stage with undistorted productions and explanatory preparatory films, as well as shortening of lengthy plays where necessary, ensure that performances are also vivid and interesting for people who have rarely visited the opera, theatre or concerts before.

Conclusion: The stage art on the Frankfurt Bridges reaches target groups that do not usually go to the theatre, the opera or concerts

The emphasis in the stagecraft of Frankfurt Bridges is to perform the repertoire of classics that a well informed and practiced theatre and opera audience may know, but that lesser stagecraft enthusiasts have never seen.

In order to make operas or plays particularly vivid for people, the plays are performed as far as possible without modernizing staging changes.

The stages on the bridges, which present foreign plays or operas or musicals in their original languages, also offer citizens who do not understand German well or not at all, the opportunity to enjoy stage art.

Frankfurt offers this international programme to its own foreign citizens, but also attracts an international audience from outside the city.

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