1999/2000 PRODUCTION STATISTICS BY THE GERMAN THEATRE ASSOCIATION
Entitled Wer spielte was?, the German Theatre Association has been publishing
its annual production statistics since 1991. It provides a comprehensive
overview of the entire repertoire (premiere date, number of performances,
visitor numbers for each production, theatre) of theatres in Germany, Austria
and Switzerland. Over the course of the 1999/2000 season, German theatres
staged 261 world premieres and 86 German premieres. These included 211 world
theatre premieres, 35 new operas, one operetta and 15 musicals. World and
national premieres represented 13.7 percent of all productions in the theatre
and 11.6 percent in music theatre.
The 365 theatres recorded by the German Theatre Association presented a total
of 71,802 performances, including 48,253 plays, 9,164 operas, 2,727 operettas,
8,342 musicals and 3,316 dance performances. There were 15,042 performances in
the area of childrens and youth theatre.
As has been the case in previous seasons, the classical repertoire dominated
again in 1999/2000. Among the most frequently performed plays were
Goethes Faust and Mozarts Zauberflöte with 701 performances in 41
different productions and 573 performances in 42 productions respectively. With
208,192 visitors, Goethes Faust was seen by more people than any other play
in Germany, followed by Gottfried Greiffenhagens Comedian Harmonists with
136,441. Always a favorite, Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream drew
106,621 visitors. In the area of music theatre, Zauberflöte (3345,859) was
followed by Humperdincks Hänsel und Gretel (192,787) and Die Hochzeit des
Figaro (167,836). The most frequently performed theatre author was
Shakespeare, with 24 works in 147 productions and a total of 2,163
performances, followed by Goethe, with 114 productions of 19 works for a total
of 1,688 performances. Worth noting is the success of contemporary playwright
Lutz Hübner. Hübners 36 productions of 7 works for a total of 731 performances
puts him in third place ahead of Molière in fourth place and Brecht in eighth.
Among the seasons most important premieres were George Taboris Brecht-Akte
(Berliner Ensemble), Kroetzs Das Ende der Paarung (Berliner Ensemble),
Rainald Goetzs Jeff Koons (Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, subsequently
staged in Bonn, Hanover, Cologne and Vienna), Roland Schimmelpfennigs Vor
langer Zeit im Mai (Schaubühne Berlin) and Albert Ostermaiers Death Valley
Junction (Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg). Noteworthy music theatre
premieres included Chaya Czernowins Pnima...Ins Innere (MünchnerBiennale),
Harald Banters Der blaue Vogel (Stadttheater Hagen), Elliot Carters What
Next? (Staatsoper Berlin) Detlev Glanerts Joseph Süß (Bremer Theater),
Volker David Kirchners Gilgamesch (Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover)
and Gerhard Stäblers Cassandra Complex (Staatstheater Wiesbaden).