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Sweden

Drottningholm's Palace Theater was built in 1766 for Queen Lovisa Ulrika. The building hides a playful interior. In the salon there are painted marbling, papier mache consoles and plaster pilasters. The stage has ingenious machinery, entirely made of wood, which is still operated by hand today. Walking games, waltzes, drums, blocks, ropes and counterweights make the great machinery work. There are around thirty scenes preserved - a backstage world adapted to the repertoire of the 18th century.

The theatre's first period of glory began in 1777 by Gustav III. With the help of actors such as Monvel, composers such as Naumann and Kraus, the ballet master Gallodier and the architect Desprez, he created a Swedish theater and operatic art at Drottningholm. Gluck's latest operas, French opéra comique and pantomime ballets were also performed here until Gustav III's death in 1792. After that, the theater building fell into oblivion.

In 1921, the literary historian Agne Beijer stepped through the door and found the unique theater untouched since the end of the 18th century. After changing the ropes in the machinery, installing electric light and gentle cleaning, the theater was reopened. During the 1920s and 30s, divertissements and changements à vue , scene changes before open curtain, were given to show off the re-glorious theatre.

From an international perspective, the theater is a unique building. It is the only 18th century theater in the world that still uses the original stage machinery regularly. 

Drottningholm's Palace Theater is a national institution with assignments and grants from the government. The theater is part of the Drottningholm World Heritage Site, Sweden's first cultural object on the list that is considered to be of inalienable value to humanity. We play opera, theater and dance performances and offer concerts, screenings and events.

Drottningholms Slottsteater / Esitykset

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