Theater landscapes

As all three stages of the Hessisches Staatstheater can be used in parallel, there are up to four performances on some days.

Kaiser Wilhelm II initiated and financed the construction of the new Wiesbaden theater in neo-baroque style and ceremoniously opened it on October 16, 1894.
At the turn of the century, the spa town became the "German Nice" with the flair of a rich and aristocratic world.
The Russian Tsar and other greats such as Wagner, Dostoyevsky and Caruso were regular visitors to the city.
Emperor Wilhelm II was so fond of the theater that he not only intervened in the direction of the productions, but also encouraged regular festivals.

This is how the May Festival came into being two years after the theater was rebuilt.
He was particularly interested in the frequently performed production of Carl Maria von Weber's "Oberon".
The May Festival is now the oldest and most glamorous in Germany, alongside Bayreuth.
In more recent times, Hansgünther Heyme was the "enfant terrible" of the Wiesbaden State Theatre from 1963 onwards, first as director and a year later as acting director, frightening traditional theater audiences with his adaptations.

Despite bold experiments during the 1980s, the Hessisches Staatstheater's repertoire remained rather traditional.
The May Festival always offered a lavish program of opera, drama, dance, ballet and children's theater performances.
The new artistic director Manfred Beilharz continues the balancing act between classical and avant-garde and dreams - according to Bertolt Brecht - of the "pleasure of beginning!"