Rathen Open Air Stage
Encyclopedia
The Rathen Open Air Stage is a natural stage in Saxon Switzerland
in East Germany. It is located in a hollow at the upper end of the Wehlgrund
valley between the rocks of Kleine Gans and Großer Wehrturm below the famous Bastei
rocks and Neurathen Castle
. The entrance to the hollow branches off just above the valleys junction with the Amselgrund
.
for the staging of plays and concerts.
It opened with Basteispiel by Kurt Arnold Findeisen.
By 1938 the first Karl May Festivals were being held. After the war the stage reopened in 1946. Since 1954 the stone stage has been played by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. In 1984 the performance of "Schatz im Silbersee" in an adaptation by Helmut Menschel continued the interrupted tradition of Karl May by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. It was followed by "Winnetou" (adapted by Uwe Wolf) in 1987 and "Old Surehand" in 1995 (adapted by Olaf Hörbe). On the 165th anniversary of Karl May's birthday on 23 June 2007 the new piece, "Der Schatz im Silbersee", was launched in an adaptation by the acor and director, Olaf Hörbe.
In the summer season between May and September there are up to 90 performances by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. The programme is very varied and ranges from musical theatre to plays and from classic to modern pieces. Traditional performances, in addition to the Karl May pieces, include Freischütz
, Hänsel and Gretel and Carmina Burana
.
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....
in East Germany. It is located in a hollow at the upper end of the Wehlgrund
Wehlgrund
The Wehlgrund in Saxon Switzerland in Eastern Germany is a right-hand, side valley of the Amselgrund, between the Bastei massif and the Kleiner Gans. Amongst the steep rock faces of the upper valley and the heavily divided head of the valley is the romantic and natural backdrop for the Rathen Open...
valley between the rocks of Kleine Gans and Großer Wehrturm below the famous Bastei
Bastei
The Bastei is a spectacular rock formation towering 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago...
rocks and Neurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle , which was first mentioned by this name in 1755 , is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German Free State of Saxony. This was once the largest rock castle in the region, but today only the rooms carved out of the rock, passages, the...
. The entrance to the hollow branches off just above the valleys junction with the Amselgrund
Amselgrund
The Amselgrund is the name given to the valley of the Grünbach stream in the heart of Saxon Switzerland in Eastern Germany. It runs from Niederrathen upstream to Rathewalde. The wild and romantic valley takes hikers through the Rathen rock basin with its bizarre rock formations...
.
History
The open-air theatre has 2,000 seats (since its expansion in 1957) and was laid out in 1936, inspired by the ideas of the Thingbewegung movement, by the municipality of RathenRathen
Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about 35 km southeast of Dresden on the Elbe River. Rathen has between 400 and 500 inhabitants....
for the staging of plays and concerts.
It opened with Basteispiel by Kurt Arnold Findeisen.
By 1938 the first Karl May Festivals were being held. After the war the stage reopened in 1946. Since 1954 the stone stage has been played by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. In 1984 the performance of "Schatz im Silbersee" in an adaptation by Helmut Menschel continued the interrupted tradition of Karl May by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. It was followed by "Winnetou" (adapted by Uwe Wolf) in 1987 and "Old Surehand" in 1995 (adapted by Olaf Hörbe). On the 165th anniversary of Karl May's birthday on 23 June 2007 the new piece, "Der Schatz im Silbersee", was launched in an adaptation by the acor and director, Olaf Hörbe.
In the summer season between May and September there are up to 90 performances by the Landesbühnen Sachsen. The programme is very varied and ranges from musical theatre to plays and from classic to modern pieces. Traditional performances, in addition to the Karl May pieces, include Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
, Hänsel and Gretel and Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
.
External links
- Felsenbühne Rathen
- entry in Karl May Wiki
- Karl May photos – photograph data bank