Silesian Theatre

The foundation stone of the first theatre in Opava was laid in 1804 in the place a former cemetery in Horní Square. However, the theatre tradition dates back to the 17th century when public performances were occassionaly held in the Jesuit College. In the 18th century the town alloted a space on the first floor of the city tower (today’s Hláska – the so called Schmetterhaus) where travelling theatre companies could perform. In the 19th century the ever increasing interest in theatrical performances resulted in the construction of a theatre building.

The Classistic theatre building was built in the years 1804–1805 according to a project by Josef Dewez. The simplicity of the building was balanced by the grandness of the interor designed by Lorenzo Sacchetti, a scene-painter from Vienna. The first piece, Karl der Kühne, was performed on 1 October 1805. In the 1840s the building underwent several reconstructions, but in the upcoming decades various technical defects started to emerge, be it lack of capacity, problems with heating, or safety. Projects for reconstruction were put forward in the 1850s, such as the one by the Viennese architect Eduard Kuschee. The project was never realized. In reaction to tragic fires in Nice and Vienna in 1881 it was decided that the building would undergo a general overhaul. The author of the project was the town architect Eduard Labitzký, who had originally suggested that a new theatre should be built elsewhere. Eventually, a substantial part of the old theatre was torn down and a new Neo-Renaissance theatre was built in the years 1882–1883. Labitzký’s harmonic building was realized by the contstruction companies of Josef and Huberta Kmentt, Ferdinand Zdralka and Sigmund Kulka. The front facade was segmented by a triaxial avant-corps with a balcony and a gable with a clock overtopping the roof.  The north facade was adorned with allegoric figures, in the foyer there were medallions with important representatives of the German cultural life (Goethe, Grillparzer, Schiller, von Weber, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner) made by the sculptor Julius Kellner. A local painter Rudolf Templer painted the ceiling with allegoric scenes.

In 1909 the theatre was reconstructed following a great fire. The reconstruction was realized by Ferdinand Fellner, a theatre architect from Vienna. The Neo-Renaissance style was replaced by a Neo-Baroque style with Art Noveau and Classicistic features characteristic of Louis XVI. The reconstruction of the interior was realized in the same spirit by the painter Ferdinand Mosler. The appearance of the building did not change between the wars, but the theatre still underwent major changes. The originally German theatre was obliged to react to a change of circumstances after the Czechoslovak Republic was founded. It was contractually stipulated that the theatre would determine days when Czech plays would be performed there. This agreement came to an end in 1938 during occupation. At that time it was also considered that a new theatre would be built.

The modern history of the theatre began in 1945 after the war had ended. With the exception of the facade the building was not damaged during the final battles, and in October 1945 the theatre reopened under the name Silesian National Theatre. There were three ensembles in the theatre – drama, opera, and operetta. In 1948 the exterior of the building underwent reconstruction that changed its historicizing and “German” character that was not in accord with the new times of Socialist Realism. The architect Jaroslav Pelan kept the original size of windows and doors, but simplified the facade and adorned it with constructive reliefs by Vincenc Havel. Although the reconstruction was meant to be only temporary, the interior of the theatre remained unchanged for the next forty years. The only change was an annex that housed the administrative department in the rear part of the building. The 1990s brought a debate to restore the theatre to its original historicizing state. Architect Klimeš returned the building its Neo-Renaissance look.