The Opéra national du Rhin is an opera company which performs in Alsace, eastern France. It includes the Opéras in Strasbourg, in Mulhouse, where the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin, also known as the Ballet Du Rhin, is based, and in Colmar, with its Opéra Studio, a training centre for young singers. Thee organisation has held the status of "national opera" since 1997.
The first opera house opened in Strasbourg in 1701 in a converted granary. After a fire and temporary locations, a new Théâtre municipal opened in the Place Broglie in 1821. This building was virtually gutted during the German bombardment of 1870, but it was rebuilt in identical style, re-opening in 1873.[1] In early 2023 the mayor of Strasbourg announced that the Théâtre municipal would close from 2026 to 2029 for "complete reconstruction".[2]
During the German era up to 1919, several eminent conductors held posts at the Strasbourg opera: Hans Pfitzner (1910–19), Wilhelm Furtwängler (1910–11), Otto Klemperer (1914–17) and George Szell (1917–1919). From 1919–38 Paul Bastide was musical director; he returned after the Second World War with notable stagings of Béatrice et Bénédict (first French staging), and Martine by Rabaud (premiere).[1]
Since 1985 the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin, or Ballet Du Rhin for short, a national centre for choreography has been based at the Mulhouse Opera.[citation needed]
It has held the status of "national opera" since 1997.[citation needed]
The Opéra Studio, a training centre for young singers, is based at Colmar.
At the end of the 1970s Lombard was succeeded by René Terrasson, a former singer and architect, who also produced some works himself.[3] Since that time, directors have included Laurent Spielmann (1991–1997), Rudolf Berger (1997–2003), and Nicholas Snowman (2003–2009). Since 2020, the director has been Alain Perroux, taking over from the suddenly deceased Eva Kleinitz.
