National Theatre Munich

Stand for a moment on the wide stone square and let your eyes travel upward. Pale columns rise in a single row and catch the light. Behind you, trams ring their bells somewhere beyond the edge of the square. Pigeons cross the paving in short, busy bursts. In front of you, a temple-like front looks more like ancient Greece than Bavaria. This is the National Theatre of Munich, home of the Bavarian State Opera. For two centuries, people have gathered on these steps.

The square has a name too. It is Max-Joseph-Platz, named after the king who wanted this theatre. In the centre sits a bronze figure on a tall stone base. That is King Maximilian the First Joseph, the first king of Bavaria. He sits calmly, one hand raised, facing away from his own opera house. Many visitors walk past him without a second look. Take one. Without his ambition, this building would not exist.

In the early nineteenth century, Bavaria had just become a kingdom. A new kingdom wanted new symbols. The king commissioned a grand public theatre, one that ordinary citizens could also attend, not only the court. The architect Karl von Fischer drew on classical models, especially the great temples of antiquity. The theatre opened in 1818. It was large, bright and confident, a clear statement that Munich intended to be a capital of culture.

That first building did not last long. In 1823, a fire broke out during a performance and the theatre burned. Here is the first story most visitors never hear. Locals say that the winter was so cold that the water supplies had frozen. According to the popular tale, people tried to fight the flames with beer from the nearby brewery. It is a very Munich legend. Whether it is true or not, Munich still tells it.

The city did not wait. The architect Leo von Klenze took charge of the rebuilding, keeping the spirit of Fischer's design. Klenze shaped much of royal Munich in this period. The theatre reopened only a couple of years later, in 1825. Look again at the front. There are two triangular gables, one above the other. The upper one shows Apollo, the Greek god of music, together with the Muses, the goddesses of the arts.

Now, a moment for music lovers. In the 1860s, a young king named Ludwig the Second became fascinated by the composer Richard Wagner. Ludwig gave Wagner money, protection and a stage. That stage was here. Tristan and Isolde had its first performance in this theatre in 1865. The Mastersingers of Nuremberg followed in 1868. Then came the first two parts of the Ring cycle. Some of the most influential operas ever written were first heard behind these columns.

The theatre's link with another composer runs even deeper. Richard Strauss was born in Munich, and his father played the horn in the court orchestra here. Strauss grew up with this orchestra in his ears. Later, as a famous composer, he returned to conduct. Today the company still treats his music as a family inheritance. You may notice his name appearing again and again on the season posters near the entrance.

Then came the darkest chapter. In 1943, during the Second World War, Allied bombing raids struck central Munich. The National Theatre was hit and burned out. Only parts of the outer walls survived. For years after the war, the opera company performed in other halls across the city. The ruin stood here on the square, a hollow shell beside the damaged royal palace.

Here is the second surprise. The theatre you see today is largely a reconstruction from the postwar decades. Many cities chose modern designs after the war. Munich chose to bring back the classical front almost as it was. Citizens raised money for the project, and the rebuilt house reopened in 1963. Fittingly, the opening performance was an opera by Richard Strauss. So the columns look old, but much of the stone is younger than many of the visitors.

If you go inside for a performance or a tour, the contrast is striking. The auditorium follows the traditional horseshoe shape, with tier upon tier of boxes. Red velvet, cream surfaces and gold ornament fill the space. A large chandelier hangs above the stalls. The hall seats around two thousand people, which makes it one of the larger opera houses in Germany. Even the highest seats are close enough to feel the orchestra.

Now turn and look around the square itself. On one side stands the long wall of the Residenz, the former palace of the Bavarian rulers. Hidden inside that palace is a smaller jewel, the Cuvilliés Theatre, a richly carved rococo court theatre. Mozart's opera Idomeneo was first performed in the court theatre of that era, in 1781. Opposite you, a building with open arcades frames the square. Together they make this one of Munich's most elegant public spaces.

The National Theatre is not only a monument. It is a working house with an opera company, an orchestra, a ballet company and a choir. Performances run almost every evening of the season. Each summer, the Munich Opera Festival fills the calendar with special productions. On some festival evenings, performances are broadcast onto a large screen here on the square. Then thousands of people sit on the paving stones, many with picnics, listening together under the open sky.

Before you move on, stand still for one more minute. Watch how the light changes on the columns as clouds pass over. Notice the steps, worn smooth by generations of opera goers. Look up once more at Apollo and the Muses in their gable. Then glance back at the bronze king in the middle of the square. Two hundred years of music, fire and rebuilding have passed between them. And the next performance is never far away.