Pfalztheater, Opera house and theatre in Kaiserslautern, Germany

The Pfalztheater is a three-genre theatre on Willy-Brandt-Platz in Kaiserslautern, near the Fruchthalle, run by the Bezirksverband Pfalz. The postmodern building opened on 30 September 1995 with a production of Lessing's Nathan der Weise. It holds two stages: the Grosses Haus with just under 680 seats, up to 730 for concerts and children's shows, and the Werkstattbühne for about 100 spectators.

The first theatre opened in 1862, financed by Andreas Müller, owner of the Spittelmühle, on what is now Karl-Marx-Straße. After a fire destroyed it, Müller rebuilt it; in 1874 it became a joint-stock company and in 1897 the city took over the shares. Bombing on 14 August 1944 destroyed the building, and performances resumed in October 1945 in the Capitol cinema. The Film-Palast cinema at the Fackelrondell was converted into a theatre and opened in September 1950; the present house on Willy-Brandt-Platz followed in 1995.

The house has its own orchestra, house choir, an extra choir and extras, alongside ensembles for music theatre, drama and ballet. Each season brings around 400 performances, and individual productions tour to other German stages and sometimes abroad. The first piece staged in the 1995 new building was Lessing's Nathan der Weise.

The main house seats just under 680, rising to 730 for concerts and children's shows, while the Werkstattbühne holds about 100. Around 400 performances are given each season across opera, musicals, operetta, drama and contemporary dance, and some productions tour to other German stages and occasionally abroad.

The first performance in the new building on Willy-Brandt-Platz, opened on 30 September 1995 under director Pavel Fieber, was Lessing's Nathan der Weise. August Everding praised the new three-genre house in his laudatio as an unusually large and high-quality investment in art and culture.