Theater Saarbrücken, Opera house and theater in Saarbrücken, Germany.
Theater Saarbrücken, officially Saarländisches Staatstheater since 1971, is the state theatre of Saarland. Its main venue, the Großes Haus, is a large cylindrical building with a flat, slightly stepped roof, its curved facade lined with tall rectangular columns lit in vertical bands of red, magenta, purple, blue, cyan, green and yellow. Above the central entrance a sign reads "SAARLÄNDISCHES STAATSTHEATER". Further venues are the Alte Feuerwache, the Congresshalle and sparte4.
The building opened in 1938 and replaced earlier performance venues scattered throughout the city in older buildings. Architect Paul Baumgarten designed it based on his experience building major theater facilities elsewhere.
The theatre's name changed to Saarländisches Staatstheater in 1971, when the state of Saarland took over as owner. Its four venues — Großes Haus, Alte Feuerwache, Congresshalle and sparte4 — host opera, drama, ballet and concerts, with around 30 new productions and over 700 events a year for more than 200,000 visitors.
The main venue, the Großes Haus, stands on the old St. Johanner Bleiche; the other stages are the Alte Feuerwache, the Congresshalle and sparte4, so check which one your ticket names before setting out. The Großes Haus was declared a historic monument in 1983, which limits alterations to its structure.
The theatre's site on the former St. Johann bleaching ground was proposed by the local branch of the Bund Deutscher Architekten during the 1906 location dispute, competing with the city's favoured spot between Ludwigsplatz and the Saar. The 1938 opening of Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer was attended by Hitler, Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler.
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