Theater Itzehoe

The theatre stands on a small square between the old and new parts of Itzehoe, a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein. The building is oval and was designed by the architect Gottfried Böhm. Work began in 1982 and the theatre opened on 26 September 1992 with a concert by the cellist David Geringas. In 2017 it was added to the list of cultural monuments in Schleswig-Holstein. The city runs the theatre, which has no permanent company of its own. It hosts productions by visiting ensembles, including the Schleswig-Holstein Landestheater and Sinfonieorchester, the largest state theatre in Germany. The programme ranges from spoken and musical theatre to ballet, chamber music, symphony concerts, rock, pop and jazz. There are also shows for children and young audiences, supported by a theatre education officer. Festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival regularly use the theatre as a venue. Inside, the building is divided into a large auditorium with stalls and two circle balconies, a smaller studio that can be converted into a second hall, and a separate studio space with its own foyer. The central oval stage can be reconfigured for performances or events such as congresses and private celebrations. The building has a total usable area of about 4800 square metres. Its fine acoustics have attracted recordings by artists including Lang Lang, Vadim Repin, Mischa Maisky, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis.