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City Guide - Zurich - Culture | ||
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Culture In addition to high-quality museums and galleries, Zurich has one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world and high-calibre chamber and symphony orchestras. Richard Wagner lived in the Villa Wesendonck (now part of the Museum Rietberg). Fuseli, the pre-Romantic painter, also made his home in Zurich. And it was in Zurich that Tristan Tzara and the other Dadaists formulated their ideas in the Cabaret Voltaire on Spiegelgasse in 1916. There is an online guide to concerts, cinema and theatre (website: www.kulturinfo.ch). Tickets for events are available from Billettzentrale Zürich (BIZZ), Bahnhofstrasse 9 (tel: (01) 221 2283), as well as at Jecklin, Rämistrasse 30 (tel: (01) 253 7676), Jelmoli City, Seidengasse 1 (tel: (01) 220 4466), Musik Hug, Limmatquai 28-30 (tel: (01) 269 4100; website: www.musikhug.ch) and UBS TicketCorner (tel: 0848 800 800; website: www.ticketcorner.ch). Music: The Opernhaus Zürich, Falkenstrasse 1 (tel: (01) 268 6400 or 6666), is the venue for opera and ballet performances. First opened in 1891, its neo-Baroque auditorium and location by the lakeside promenade add to the atmosphere of a romantic evening. The Zürcher Kammerorchester (Zurich Chamber Orchestra) plays at the Tonhalle, Claridenstrasse 7 (tel: (01) 206 3434) from August to June, while the Tonhalle Orchester performs symphonic concerts. The Tonhalle is renowned for its acoustics and has two halls - the larger seats 1455 and the smaller 636. Part of the Kongresshaus Zürich, it was built in 1895 and the concert chamber was inaugurated by Johannes Brahms. Theatre: The Schauspielhaus Zürich, Rämistrasse 34 (tel: (01) 265 5858; website: www.schauspielhaus.ch), is one of the largest and most important theatres in Switzerland. Some 14 new productions are staged each year, varying from Shakespeare to Zurich's own Dürrenmatt. Built in the late nineteenth century, the theatre comprises two venues - the 745-seat Grosse Haus and the 130-seat Schauspielhaus-Keller, which stages more alternative and off-beat productions. Dance: Zurich's ballet company, the Zürcher Balletts, performs at the Opernhaus (see above). Modern and experimental dance can be seen in a number of venues, including the Rote Fabrik, Seestrasse 395 (tel: (01) 481 9143). Film: Films shown in Zurich are almost always in the original language with subtitles. Open-air screenings take place on the lakeside at Zürichhorn in July and August. There are some 50 cinemas in the city to choose from, including repertory cinemas like Xenix, Kanzleistrasse 56 (tel: (01) 242 0411). KinoTel (tel: (0900) 900 999) provides information on screenings. Cultural events: The most traditional events on the Zurich calendar are Sechseläuten, Zurich's Spring Festival and Knabenschiessen. Sechseläuten involves guild members parading in historic costumes and the Böögg (a mock snowman filled with fireworks) being burned to symbolise the end of winter, while the Knabenschiessen festival is a shooting competition for boys, with a market and funfair. The Zürcher Festspiele takes place from 23 June to 16 July in 2001 with ballet, opera, theatre and concerts at stages around the city (website: www.zuercher-festspiele.ch). During the Züri-Fäscht, the city of Zurich is transformed into a giant festival site culminating with an impressive fireworks display over Lake Zurich. The next festival takes place on 6-8 July 2001. Literary Notes James Joyce worked on Ulysses (1922), here at the same time the Dadaists were at the Cabaret Voltaire. He died in Zurich in 1941 and lies buried in Fluntern Cemetery. Strauhof Zürich, Augustinerstrasse 9 (tel: (01) 211 8301) has a library and organises readings of works by Joyce and other modern writers. Thomas Mann lived in the Zurich area before World War II and again in the 1950s - the Thomas Mann Archiv at the Federal Institute of Technology, Schönberggasse 15 (tel: (01) 632 4045), houses his manuscripts, library and study. He died in Zurich in 1955 and is buried in Kilchberg, to the south of the city. The German playwright, Georg Büchner, lived and died at Spiegelgasse 12. Another of Zurich's literary residents, the nineteenth-century poet Gottfried Keller, is best known for his novella, Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (Romeo and Juliet in the Village), that transposes Shakespeare's famous tragedy to a small Swiss village. The playwrights Max Frisch, author of I'm Not Stiller, and Friedrich Dürrenmatt The Visit (1955) are yet more famous literary Zürchers. |