History of the Darmstädter ResidenzfestspieleAlthough Darmstadt was nearly completely destructed during World War II, the city still offers a number of magnificent buildings and green spaces. Some of these locations were already used during the baroque period as setting for courtly festivities. The Residenzfestspiele were created in 2001 by a group of Darmstadt citizens with the idea to recall these important historical locations to life. A petition for the creation of the Darmstädter Residenzfestspiele, initiated by the Konzertchor Darmstadt and its Artistic Director Wolfgang Seeliger, found the necessary support of the population of Darmstadt. Since
then, a variety of cultural events take place each year during the
summer months in the former city of the Dukes of Hesse: from classical
to pop music, gospel, jazz, theatre, dance, variety
shows
and much more. The events take place open-air, without stage
roof, in order to best render the original atmosphere of
their historical settings. Year on year the festival, with a
different theme for each edition, has expanded in time and
space. Whereas only the courtyard of the castle, the courtyard of the
council building, the Mathildenhöhe and the Woog peninsula
were
used in the early days, new attractive locations now also welcome the
festival: the ruin of the former city chapel,
the Rosenhöhe, the Orangerie, the Rodenstein
courtyard in the
Hessian museum, the Bessungen hunting lodge and
the Prinz Georg
gardens. The Darmstädter
Residenzfestspiele have also grown in popularity with the audience and
have gained recognition among festival experts. 2001 The theme of the very first Darmstädter Residenzfestspiele, "Serenata 2001", was evocative of the historical tradition of serenade concerts. Main highlights were Orff's "Carmina Burana" in the castle's courtyard and Handel's "Watermusic", both concerts attended by over 1,000 people. More than 5,000 tickets sold for 11 events over 3 weekends and many enthusiastic spectators motivated festival director Wolfgang Seeliger to continue the Residenzfestspiele in the following year. 2002 The city of Darmstadt offered its support and the "Summernight Dreams 2002" took place under the patronage of lord mayor Peter Benz. The festival, which comprised as many as 24 events, could attract Martin Konietschke as "artist in residence". The festive opening with a Beethoven Gala and a speech by the Hessian minister for science and culture, Ruth Wagner, was followed by six festival weekends, swaying between medieval and contemporary music, lectures, dance and famous orchestra works. The performance of Haydn's "Creation" by the Konzertchor Darmstadt conducted by Wolfgang Seeliger marked the 25th anniversary of the choir and the performance of Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" in the baroque Orangerie garden marked the 1,000th anniversary of the creation of the Bessungen borough. 2003 The theme of the third edition, with 23 events, was "As may please you". The highlight was without a doubt the concert given by Sir Elton John in the Böllenfalltor stadium, which attracted 16,000 people. But it is also the success of other events, like the much applauded performance of Mozart's "Entführung aus dem Serail" that contributed to a new record attendance. According to an already established tradition, the programme navigated between many shores: theater, opera, concerts with a large array of orchestras, soloists, choirs and dancers. Old favourites alternated with new tunes, ancient music with contemporary sounds, well-known pieces with more uncommon works. 2004 Themed "Light of Sounds" the 2004 edition was marked by a new international dimension. The programme spanned medieval music, Beethoven, jazz, as well as Irish folk and Indian dance. First class artists like the American jazz singer Joan Faulkner, the Clemencic Consort Vienna, or the famous Wisconsin Dance Company (Wisconsin is Hesse's American partner state), as well as ensembles from Corea, China and the Philippines performed in Darmstadt that year. The festival could attract the Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino from Italy as "Orchestra in Residence". The performance of "Amadeus" was a striking example of the ambition of the festival to unite different artistic forms. In a co-production by the Dramatische Bühne Frankfurt, the Konzertchor Darmstadt and the Darmstädter Hofkapelle, the theatre play by Peter Shaffer was accompanied with live music by Mozart. This event also pointed out another specificity of the Darmstädter Residenzfestspiele: a large proportion of the events are created especially for the festival and are therefore often world premieres. 2005 The Residenzfestspiele 2005 were themed "Fascination". Singer and entertainer Deborah Sasson opened the festival with her extraordinary voice and opera and musical highlights. The worlwide acclaimed tenor Peter Schreier gave an unforgettable finale with a performance of Schubert's "Schöne Müllerin" and Bach's "St John Passion" in which he sang and conducted at the same time. It wasn't the first time that this internationally sought-after singer performed in Darmstadt but it was his last performance of the St John Passion in Germany before he put an end to his singing career at the end of 2005. Other artists included: Bill Ramsey & En Haufe Leit, the magician of the clarinet Giora Feidman as well as the wind quintet of the Staatskapelle Dresden. The complete programmes for 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as reviews are available under Reviews 2005. In the section "Artists" you will find information about the artists performing in 2006 as well as some background on the artists who performed in the previous editions of the festival (see "Artists of the previous editions"). |
