Karl Hubbuch
Rehearsal at the Große Schauspielhaus
1919
Etching
Berlin City Museum Foundation
Karl Hubbuch’s (1891–1979) etching shows how impressed Berlin audiences were with the new Großes Schauspielhaus, completed in 1919 following the conversion of the Schumann Circus. Poelzig’s (1869–1936) architecture was perceived as fantastic, “like a piece of the Arabian fairy tale world.” The auditorium seated more than 3,000 people.
Hubbuch depicts a rehearsal for Aeschylus’ ancient tragedy “Oresteia,” with which Max Reinhardt (1873–1943) inaugurated the new theater on November 28, 1919, before an invited audience.