Zürich Opera House, Opera house at Sechseläutenplatz, Zürich, Switzerland.
The Zürich Opera House is a theatre on Sechseläutenplatz with a pale stone facade in two tiers: five arched windows between four columns above a rusticated base with three glazed arched entrances. The frieze reads "STADTTHEATER ZÜRICH", flanked by "MUSIK" and "WAGNER", and two bronze sculpture groups sit on the roofline. The neo-rococo auditorium seats about 1,100.
The building was constructed after a fire destroyed the previous theater in 1890. It was the first opera house in Europe to feature electrical lighting.
The name Stadttheater Zürich survives in the gold frieze above the columns, with "Musik" and "Wagner" flanking it. Since 2012 each season opens with an open-house day, and one performance per season is shown live on a screen on Sechseläutenplatz as "oper für alle" or "ballett für alle", first held in June 2014.
The house stands on Sechseläutenplatz, a short walk from Zurich's main station and tram stops at the square. The main entrance is on the square side, under the three glazed arches. During the season, one performance is shown live on a screen on Sechseläutenplatz, so the square itself becomes a viewing spot.
The building opened in 1891 as the Stadttheater and was renamed Opernhaus Zürich in 1964. Its design by Fellner & Helmer was originally drawn up for Kraków and built in only 16 months. It is largely identical to the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden.
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