Essen Opera House

Alvar Aalto – Essen Opera House, Germany, 1959-1988

The Aalto Theatre (in German, Aalto-Musiktheater Essen) is a theatre in the German city of Essen, designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
It was inaugurated on 25 September 1988 with the performance of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. It hosts mainly dance and opera performances.
For Alvar Aalto it was his first opera house project, he had unanimously won the competition in 1959, but construction only began in 1983, seven years after his death. The materials and use of natural lighting recall the”organic architecture” characteristic of the Finnish architect and the building is immersed in a park in the city center.
The stage tower is completely integrated into the roof and the wavy facade in gray granite and the dynamism of the windows seem to follow a musical score. Characteristic interiors of the auditorium are the asymmetrical plan and the blue color of the seats.