Fokus ’33
THE SYMPOSION
DIS | CONTINUITIES
Opera and its Historiography between the Weimarer Republic and Early Post-War West Germany
May 18 - 21, 2023
Symposium of the Theater Bonn & the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn.
For further information and the register form click here.
Fokus '33 – The Exhibition
Seit 8. Dezember 2022 im Opernhaus

What today is often perceived as an excavation or even a renewal of the repertoire may well once have been a very common part of the repertoire.
The exhibition supported with exhibits from the Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne and curated by Dr Gerald Köhler and Thomas Kuchlbauer searches for traces of the past of these operas that are or have been performed in the context of our research project FOKUS '33.
Die Eröffnung fand am 8. Dezember im Foyer des Opernhauses statt.
Die Ausstellung ist während der Vorstellungszeiten geöffnet und kostenlos für Karteninhaber zugänglich.
The Research Project
Ausgezeichnet mit dem Oper! Award 2023

An exploratory journey towards the causes of disappearing and remaining
Since 2013/14, Theater Bonn’s opera has placed a central focus on the exploration of musical theatre works from the first third of the 20th century that, for various reasons, never found their way into the canon or lost their place in it over the course of time (such as Walter Braunfels: DER TRAUM EIN LEBEN; Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek: HOLOFERNES; Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen: OBERST CHABERT; Othmar Schoeck: PENTHESILEA).
Until at least the summer of 2023, but intended to continue beyond this period, we will pursue the issue of the mechanisms of forgetting or preserving with special intensity and from a broader perspective in the context of a special series of event.
As part of a performative and academic research project entitled FOKUS ‘33 – Forschungsreise zu den Ursachen von Verschwinden und Verbleiben (FOKUS ’33 – An exploratory journey towards the causes of disappearing and remaining), Oper Bonn will put forward a significantly increased number of productions of works that disappeared from theatre programming after 1933 or from 1945, or that were created during this period and were only premiered afterwards – for reasons that are in turn connected to factors that are to be investigated with the means of musical theatre and its complementing academic subjects. Productions of works by Alberto Franchetti, Clemens von Franckenstein, Rolf Liebermann, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Arnold Schönberg, Franz Schreker, Richard Strauss and Kurt Weill will be created and the causes of disappearing and remaining will be investigated in exhibitions and lectures.
Am 27. Februar 2023 wurde das Forschungsprojekt FOKUS '33 mit dem OPER! AWARD in der Kategorie "Beste Wiederentdeckug" ausgezeichnet.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in cooperation with the NRW KULTURsekretariat.

Productions
Arabella | Leonore 40/45 | Ein Feldlager in Schlesien | Li-Tai-Pe | Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny | Asrael | Der Singende Teufel | Aron und Moses
Supporting programs
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Supporting Program 2022|23
Sat07JanOpera Foyerbühne 22:30The Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny
NACHGEFRAGT: Im Gespräch zu Kurt Weills AUFSTIEG UND FALL DER STADT MAHAGONNY
Sat14JanOpera Foyerbühne 22:30AsraelNACHGEFRAGT: Im Gespräch zu Alberto Franchettis ASRAEL
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Supporting Program 2021|22
Sun10OctPremiere Opera Opernhaus 18:00Leonore 40/45
Rolf Liebermann (1910 –1999)
Festvortrag von Prof. Dr. Thomas Bauer: Vom Kanon zum Einerlei – warum die Oper ihre Vielfalt liegenlässt