Budynek Operalni Saskiej w Warszawie

Abstract

The article discusses the history of the first free-standing purpose-built theater edifice in Warsaw, which, from 1725 to 1772, hosted performances by dell’arte troupes and the Dresden Opera, as well as the first permanent ensemble of Polish actors. The author refers to the scant research on this building (known as the Royal Opernhauz, Operalnia, or Saxon Theater), focusing on the findings of Martin Hammitzsch, Mieczysław Rulikowski, and Kazimierz Konarski. Based on an analysis of ten drawings and plans of the building from Dresden archives (Institut für Denkmalpflege and Landeshauptarchiv), which are reproduced in the article, she challenges Hammitzsch’s dating of the edifice in 1748 and suggests that its construction was completed as early as 1725. She also disagrees with the claim that Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann or Joachim Daniel Jauch were involved in designing the Saxon Opera House. The name of the architect remains unknown; however, it is clear that he must have been strongly influenced by the Dresden art scene, as there is a noticeable similarity between the Warsaw theater and the Kleiner Komedienhaus in Dresden. The article also discusses the available material concerning the reconstruction of the edifice in 1748, which was probably limited to the renovation of the interior and perhaps also the façade, the redecoration of the auditorium, and technical improvements to the stage. The architectural solutions used in the Opera House had a significant impact on the development of theater stages in Poland.

Keywords

• polish theater 1700–1800
• theater architecture
• court theater
• public theater