Significantly thinned out: the auditorium of the Berliner Ensemble. Photo: Britta Pedersen / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa (Britta Pedersen / dpa)
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“Before Corona” – as the new era is now also in the world of the stage – theater-goers usually sat close together. That is why the view into the hall of the Berliner Ensemble is now very strange. Of the 700 red velvet seats in the white and gold hall, only about 200 are left – some individually, mostly in groups of two.
For almost half a year, nothing went in most theaters because of the corona pandemic. Now in September operations are slowly picking up speed again. But the number of seats has been greatly reduced from Bochum to Berlin. The authorities are intervening in order to be able to comply with the corona-related distance rules.
Some might think: At last, going to the theater is an elitist affair again, and finally everyone has more space to themselves. Fortunately, you can finally concentrate on one piece again without arguing about the backrest with the person sitting next to you or worrying about the giant seats or updos in front of you.
But it’s not that simple either. Much is missing from the other magic of going to the theater. Regulated entry routes, wearing mouth and nose protection to the seat, providing contact details, usually no break, reduced catering, no cloakroom tax – this is the message in many houses in times of the coronavirus.
A few days ago, associations such as the Deutsche Bühnenverein demanded “more sense of proportion from the federal and state governments in the admission of audiences in closed rooms under Covid-19 conditions”.
The reduced number of spectators is downright frightening, especially on private, unsubsidized stages. In Berlin, for example, the Tipi cabaret at the Chancellery and Bar every reason are planning performances by Désirée Nick, Maren Kroymann and Lisa Eckhart. In the Spiegelzelt Bar every reason, only 116 instead of 234, in the tipi 180 instead of 500 should be admitted. Visitors also ask themselves: How should that pay off? Will there be a big stage death in 2021?
When the Hamburg State Opera starts the new season on September 5, a maximum of 500 tickets will be sold instead of the usual 1700 seats, other opera houses are still waiting to reopen, the Stuttgart Opera will not return until October – with an expected 330 seats instead of the regular one around 1400.
According to the press office, the Semperoper in Dresden will start these days with a reduced program and seating plan, initially offering only 300 of the otherwise 1,300 seats. For the time being, the Bavarian State Opera is only allowed to occupy 200 out of around 2,100 seats, while the Frankfurt am Main Opera has 390 out of around 1,360.
According to its spokeswoman, the Schauspiel Frankfurt has 160 instead of 700 seats available in the large hall, 40 out of 180 in the Kammerspiele. The Schauspielhaus Hamburg normally has a good 1200 seats – now there are only 330 for the time being. And in the Berlin Volksbühne there are 130 to 150 seats of otherwise a maximum of 824 are available.
Last week, the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus presented its premieres in a kind of preview on the square in front of the theater for three days. The event replaced the opening party throughout the house. It starts in the first week of September – in the large hall, however, due to the Corona distance rules, only 180 of about 740 seats.
At the Schauspielhaus Bochum, directed by Johan Simons, the opening party with thousands of visitors is also canceled due to Corona. The season starts on September 10 with the Shakespeare drama “King Lear”. The audience capacity is reduced from 820 to 180.
Things are a little different in Austria: According to a spokeswoman, the world-famous Vienna State Opera has a so-called dynamic seating plan. Of the approximately 1700 seats, up to 1200 can be occupied. A family or household can book up to four seats next to each other, then the system locks surrounding chairs. If more individuals came, more would be blocked.
And things are different in Switzerland too: the Zurich Opera House limits the number of seats to 900 (instead of the usual 1200). From September 20, there will be a “live experience in an unprecedented form of presentation” – at the beginning “Boris Godunow” by Modest Mussorgski in the production of Barrie Kosky. The large collective orchestra and choir will be broadcast live to the opera from an airy rehearsal room that has been converted into a recording studio. Singers are on stage as usual.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200830-99-361432 / 4 (dpa)
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