Appendix C - Vienna’s Principal Theaters and Halls in Beethoven’s Time

Summary

Burgtheater: The Burgtheater's building originated as the Court's sixteenthcentury Ballhaus (indoor tennis courts) but went vacant after the tennis craze subsided. From 1741, it was converted into a Court Theater, later with an eastward extension into Michaelerplatz to enlarge the backstage areas. In the first years of the 1800s, a Resonanzkuppel (acoustical shell) was placed on the stage for the large-scaled Tonkünstler-Societät benefit concerts, but it was cumbersome and fell into disuse.

Beethoven's Piano Concerto in B-flat, Op. 19, was premiered on a Tonkünstler- Societät concert here in March, 1795, and his Piano Concerto in C, Op. 15, and Symphony No. 1 in C, on his own first benefit concert on April 2, 1800. In his ballet Creatures of Prometheus (March, 1801), he wrote for specific players within the Burgtheater's orchestra, including harpist Josepha Mullner. Once his contract with the Theater an der Wien expired, Beethoven composed his Coriolan Overture for the Burgtheater's orchestra in 1807 and the Egmont Overture and incidental music (with several specific passages for specific orchestral musicians) in early 1810.

By 1810, the theater's condition had declined to a point where the more physically demanding opera and ballet companies were moved to the Karntnertor Theater, with the Burgtheater used almost exclusively for dramas. Its capacity was roughly 1,300, including boxes, regular seating, and standing places. It took nearly an hour to empty after a performance and was considered a firetrap. Even so, it was used until 1888.

Sources: Weinzierl, pp. 61–70; Czeike, Vol. 1, pp. 522–523; Morrow, pp. 71–78; ÖML, Vol. 1, pp. 239–241.

Kärntnertor Theater: A theater next to the Tor (Gate) leading to Karnten (provincial Carinthia, on the way to Italy) was built in 1709 but burned completely in 1761. In its place (roughly the site of today's Hotel Sacher), the Court built a new Karntnertor Theater, larger than the Burgtheater (five tiers of boxes, seats, and standing places, compared to the Burg's four), in 1763, with a new entry and facade added three years later. Its practical capacity was roughly 1,800 persons. Because the new building had been designed as a theater, it could accommodate the more elaborate scenery and space required by opera and ballet and from 1810 was used for those activities.