Early history Frankfurt's first opera was
Johann Theile's
Adam und Eva, performed in 1698 by Johann Velten's touring company. The first operas
Goethe's experienced in his hometown of Frankfurt were productions by Theobald Marchand's company.
1782 – 1880 in 1902 Opened in 1782, the
Comoedienhaus was the first permanent venue of the Frankfurt Theater (drama and opera). In 1878 German violinist
Willy Hess took up the leadership of the Oper Frankfurt. He resigned from that post in 1886 to take up a professorship in the Rotterdam Conservatorium voor Muziek.
1880 – 1944 ) from
Opernplatz in 1900 The first representative opera house of the city was inaugurated in Frankfurt in 1880 at
Opernplatz. Under the direction of the first Intendant and the first Kapellmeister
Felix Otto Dessoff, the house was opened with Mozart's opera
Don Giovanni. During the 1920s, the opera in Frankfurt had more prominent Jewish singers than any other company in Germany, including the tenor
Hermann Schramm, bass
Hans Erl (the first King in Schreker's
Der Schatzgräber), baritone
Richard Breitenfeld and contralto
Magda Spiegel, who also toured with Frankfurt Opera performing Wagner in the Netherlands. These singers were forced to leave the opera in June 1933. Orff's
Carmina Burana was premiered at Oper Frankfurt in 1937. Jewish members of the opera company among those rounded up on 9 November 1938 at the
Festhalle Frankfurt, where Erl sang ''In diesen Heil'gen Hallen'', from the
Magic Flute for the deportees. Members of Frankfurt Opera were sent to Auschwitz and other camps where they perished.
1945 – 1970s The opera house was damaged in an air raid in January 1944, and then almost completely destroyed in March. In 1952,
Georg Solti became
Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) and
Intendant of the Oper Frankfurt, where he remained in charge for nine years. A new house for opera and drama was built, completed in 1963 at the Theaterplatz (now
Willy-Brandt-Platz).
The Gielen era From 1977 to 1987, Frankfurt Opera was led by
Michael Gielen. This decade became known as the "Gielen era", Operas which received their world premieres at the house were also performed again, including Franz Schreker's
Die Gezeichneten. The opera house was rebuilt and opened in April 1991. Oper Frankfurt was voted "Opera House of the Year" by the magazine
Opernwelt in 1996, 2003, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2023, they were distinguished also in the categories Chorus, directed by
Tilman Michael, world premiere (for
Blühen), and rediscovery (for
Die ersten Menschen). The company received the distinction again in 2024, with recognition also in the categories Chorus and Production (shared) for Wagner's
Tannhäuser, conducted by Guggeis and directed by
Matthew Wild. Director of the year was
Lydia Steier, including for her Frankfurt production of Verdi's
Aida, and singer of the year
John Osborn, including for his Frankfurt portrayal of Éléazar in Halevy's
La Juive. , new buildings for the Städtische Bühnen are planned. ==Artistic leadership==