Seebühne (Bregenz, Austria)
Seebühne
Seebühne (or floating stage), with its 7,000 seat open-air amphitheatre, is the location for large-scale opera or musical performances on a stage over water on the shores of Lake Constance. Opera or musical productions on the floating stage generally tend to come from the popular operatic repertoire, but often are extravagantly original and innovative productions/ stagings, frequently using the waters of the lake as an extension of the stage. Recent productions have included Aida by Giuseppe Verdi in 2009 & 2010; Tosca by Giacomo Puccini in 2007–2008; Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi in 2005–2006; West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein in 2003-2004; La bohème by Giacomo Puccini in 2001–2002, and Ein Maskenball (Un ballo in maschera) by Giuseppe Verdi in 1999–2000.
After a donation from Karl Deuring, the festival from 1950 with a 6400 persons fassenden the largest sea stage in the world was available, which was initially reduced to 4,400 seats in 1979 due to modifications, but now holds almost 7000 spectators. As a play on the lake, a large production of the music theatre was staged annually, initially mostly operettas, Singspiele or Spielopern, since the 1970s increasingly operas of the international repertoire and Musicals. Between 1960 and 1977 the Seebühne was also repeatedly used for ballet performances. Since 1985, the productions have been played on the Seebühne for two years each.
In the spring of 2008, a Quantum consolation also took place at the Seebühne in the shooting of the James Bond Film, while the ZDF also hosted the EM Studio for daily coverage at the Seebühne during the 2008 European football championship.
In August 2010, Reinhold Bilgeri premiered the film Der Atem des Himmels at the Seebühne. The performance was sold out with about 7000 spectators weeks before.