Festspielhaus St. Pölten

In the cultural neighborhood of St. Pölten, the Festspielhaus advertises itself as Austria’s largest premiere site for international dance and contemporary ballet.The brilliance, however, reaches well beyond the federal lines.Aside from dance and symphonic music, the multi-genre house hosts the world’s top Cirque Nouveau companies, as well as jazz and world music legends.

The Festspielhaus St. Pölten is one of Austria’s most stunning theater structures of contemporary design, and it has grown into a major venue with one of the largest stages for dance and music in a debate between tradition and modernity since its inception in 1997.As a periodically performing multi-genre theater, the Festspielhaus St. Pölten produces dance works ranging from modern ballet to worldwide innovations, concerts ranging from classical to jazz and world, youth formats, and chamber music since the 2013 season.The agenda includes guest performances, co-productions, and artist residencies.Since its inception in 1997, the Festspielhaus St. Pölten has been the permanent home of the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, which represents one of the Festspielhaus’s key program pillars with its concert cycle.International orchestral concerts enhance the classical music program.

For many years, the Festspielhaus St. Pölten has been a trailblazer in the field of cultural mediation.This participation area is given more consideration in the program and design with the goal of developing the Festspielhaus as an open space for creative interchange.

The international program of dance productions, concerts, music theater, and cultural mediation activities exemplifies the house’s openness and dialogue ability for and with established and new audiences, as well as its deep roots in the region and strong artistic positioning in the international cultural scene.The Festspielhaus St. Pölten is neither a repertoire house nor a festival, but rather a new form of venue with time and space for art, a visionary model of ongoing and socially responsible cultural engagement.

The opening of the Festspielhaus St. Pölten on March 1, 1997, with a concert by the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, was a watershed moment in Lower Austrian cultural life.With the building and opening of this one-of-a-kind home in Austria, a striking statement was set within the local cultural environment – in many ways: not only its creative architecture, but also the proposal to establish a large-scale new venue at the St. Pölten location. From today’s perspective, it was a little revolution that contributed significantly to elevating the then-young Lower Austrian province capital’s prominence.

The Festspielhaus, constructed by Austrian architect Klaus Kada, contains four rooms that can accommodate cultural events of varying proportions due to their distinct physical dimensions.Traditional festivities, light music concerts, and opera performances are performed in addition to symphonic concerts and dance plays.

The auditorium of the house’s Great Hall has a capacity of 1,063 seats, 70 standing spaces, and 4 wheelchair spaces.Music and dance theater performances are possible thanks to the stage equipment.For orchestral concerts, a separate orchestra shell was built.Due to modest technical adjustments, the Great Hall now provides excellent acoustics for dance, concerts, and music theater.The ceiling, wall, and stage doorway are all conceivable alterations.The concert shell is an important part of acoustics.The Iron Curtain, which separates the auditorium from the stage, is about 20 meters wide and more than 10.5 meters high, and it is the largest work of art in the country. The total weight of the structure is 14.5 tons.He was created by the artist Eva Schlegel.

Bernhard Schutti created the side walls and parapets using the traditional stucco method.

In addition to the Great Hall, there is the Small Hall, which is utilized for chamber music performances.In addition, “Probebühne 1” and “Probebühne 2” are available for smaller-scale events.The effective architecture, as well as the use of beautiful materials for the Festspielhaus, are characterized by wide foyers and the convenience of a parking garage with direct access to the Festspielhaus.