Culture in the Erzgebirge
It doesn’t matter whether you love classical music or prefer the theatre. Are you interested in all kinds of art or do you love to listen to an open-air concert in the summer?
None of your wishes for cultural activity will be unfulfilled in the Erzgebirge, and you will never be bored, because there are cultural programmes offered all year round throughout the entire Erzgebirge District.
Let yourself be surprised and enjoy culture in the Erzgebirge by yourself, with friends or with your whole family.
ERZGEBIRGE PHILHARMONIC OF AUE AND THE EDUARD-VON-WINTERSTEIN THEATRE IN ANNABERG-BUCHHOLZ
Since 1990, thanks to the extraordinary artistic accomplishments of the Erzgebirge "Philharmonic" orchestra, the now renamed Auer Orchestra has been collaborating closely with the Eduard von Winterstein Theatre in Annaberg. With the founding of the Erzgebirge Theatre and Orchestra (Erzgebirgische Theater und Orchester GmbH) in June 1997, the two musical groups have been combined into one orchestra, which has been staging its musical theatre performances at the Eduard von Winterstein Theatre. In addition to operas, operettas and musicals, plays and studio stage productions are on Annaberg’s City Theatre’s programme.
THE MITTELSÄCHSISCHES THEATER
The Mittelsächsisches Theater, the Central Saxon Theatre, in Freiberg is the oldest municipal theatre in the world. The curtain has regularly been going up here for more than 210 years. The theatre with 315 seats is gleaming again, just as it did in 1880 – there is good reason that the house is also referred to as the “Small Super Opera”. The ensemble of the Mittelsächsisches Theater performs classics and comedies, operas, operettas and musicals, theatre for children and youth, plays and concerts as part of its repertoire.
ERZGEBIRGE DISTRICT’S THEATRE PEDAGOGIC CENTRE
More than 80 children engage in creative and meaningful free time activities at the Theaterpädagogisches Zentrum (Theatre Pedagogic Centre) in Stollberg. The “Burattino” ensemble stages a large number of performances every year throughout the Saxon region. In addition, the young actors also travel around the world for guest performances, for example, to Italy, Russia, France and Finland. In the young actors group, children from eight to twelve years of age are introduced to the craft of performing theatre plays in a fun way. Their education includes speech training, improvisational training, role plays, cinematics and stage fighting. Former members of the “Thea(l)ternative” group continue to enjoy the opportunity to act in the theatre after they become adults.
GREIFENSTEINE NATURAL STAGE
During the summer months, the curtain falls at the Eduard von Winterstein Theatre in Annaberg-Buchholz and the ensemble moves outside to perform in front of a completely natural backdrop, the granite rocks of the Greifenstein Massif between Ehrenfriedersdorf and Geyer. Audience members both large and small can look forward every year to fairy tales, operettas and musical theatre performed outdoors. In 2010, the programme includes the return of plays such as “Der Bettelstudent” (“The Beggar Student”) and the premiere of “Heidi”. In addition to a wide range of theatre, there will also be films presented, when the nature stage becomes an outdoor cinema, and cowboys at the annual Country Open Air.
ARTMONTAN CULTURE DAYS
Extraordinary events in extraordinary places: As a unique festival in Saxony, the artmontan Culture Days provide those in attendance with a glimpse into mysterious mining world of the Erzgebirge and a chance to visit production sites of regional industrial companies. The project has become a regular component of the Erzgebirge District’s cultural activities since it was inaugurated in May 1999. During 2010, adventurous presentations are planned to take place both above and below ground at the various venues. For example, you can experience a musical adventure with the renowned ensemble, “LieberTango” at Vattenfall’s Markersbach pump storage power plant on 17 April.
AUSTEL VILLA
The Austel family’s 1886 Jugendstil villa provides an impressive setting for the “Bruno Gebhardt” collection of curiosities. This permanent exhibition features meticulously restored examples of the work of the Erzgebirge decorative painter, Bruno Gebhardt, from fossils to mechanical musical devices to porcelain figures. Visitors can enjoy extraordinary cuisine at the Parkcafé Austelvilla restaurant. In the adjoining Austel Park, an idyllic circular path leads past a grotto and the restored entrance to the “Neues Glück” mining tunnel.
MANUFAKTUR DER TRÄUME - MANUFACTURE OF DREAMS
The “Manufaktur der Träume” (Manufacture of Dreams) is a new museum complex created in Annaberg-Buchholz’s Old City. Beginning in the fall of 2010, Swiss collector Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher’s comprehensive collection of Erzgebirge folk art will be on display in a permanent exhibition. Alternating special exhibitions and museum pedagogic events will complement the experience concept. Located between the “Erzhammer” restaurant and the Adam Ries Museum, the Manufaktur der Träume will help transform an entire city district into a future museum district.