Aalto Theatre, Opera house and theatre in Essen, Germany.

The Aalto Theatre stands in the northeastern part of Essen's Stadtgarten. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto won the 1959 competition with an organic design; after his death in 1976, Harald Deilmann led construction from 1983 to 1988, keeping Aalto's architectural-artistic concept. The auditorium has an asymmetrical layout with indigo-blue seats.

Finnish architect Alvar Aalto won the 1959 competition for the opera house, but the project stalled twice: plans were halted in 1964 for cost reasons and again after Aalto's death in 1976. Harald Deilmann took over in 1981, keeping Aalto's design; the foundation stone was laid on 15 November 1983 and the house opened on 25 September 1988 with Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

The house is run by Theater und Philharmonie Essen, with the Essener Philharmoniker as its orchestra. Besides opera and operetta it stages musicals, concerts and ballet, and the Aalto Ballett is based here. In 2008 critics of the magazine Opernwelt named it Opera House of the Year.

The venue is located at Opernplatz 10 and offers guided tours, wheelchair access, and an online booking system for regular performances. Visitors can find accessible facilities and straightforward ways to reserve tickets in advance.

The theater operates AaltoMobil, a program that brings performances directly to schools, retirement homes, and correctional facilities across the region. This initiative extends cultural access to people who might otherwise have limited opportunities.