The Kassel State Theatre is a tradition-rich four-division house with opera, drama, ballet, and concerts, looking back on a history reaching into the 17th century. The present opera house on Friedrichsplatz opened in 1959 as a postwar building after the historic court theatre had been destroyed in the Second World War. The house is home to the Kassel State Orchestra, one of the oldest orchestras in the world with roots reaching into the 16th century. The theatre plays a special role during the documenta, the world's most important exhibition of contemporary art, which every five years makes Kassel the global centre of the art world and involves the house with wide-ranging performance programmes.
Landgrave Moritz of Hesse-Kassel had one of Germany's first permanent theatre buildings erected around 1605 — the Ottoneum, which today serves as a natural history museum.
At a glance
- Type
- Multi-genre theatre
- Location
- Kassel, Germany
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