Nuremberg is planning its interim opera at the Congress Hall. Classical music on a former Nazi site? They have known that with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra for decades, they have their offices, their studio and a concert hall there. A conversation with director Lucius Hemmer.
SZ: Mr. Hemmer, what was it like when you first entered your workplace in this monstrous Nazi building?
Lucius Hemmer: That was almost 20 years ago. You have to overcome and climb this building first. But as soon as you meet the committed people who go to work there every day, it quickly loses its defiant, repulsive character. You soon forget the background. In fact, after the first confrontation, it was never a problem again.
Lucius Hemmer is the artistic director of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra.
(Photo: Ludwig Olah)
Humans are incredible creatures of habit.
You can often experience that in Nuremberg. Someone who walks across the Zeppelin field for the first time is of course apprehensive: there was the Nazi march, there the swastika that had been blown up. When the famous Noris race rushes through just before that, you swallow a lot. “bread and circuses” in this place? But at some point you realize that it’s a good thing if these buildings are repurposed in a reasonable way.
For you, the area is simply your place of work?
Sure, the Symphoniker have their management and administration headquarters in the Congress Hall. The orchestra moved here in the 1960s, in a ruin with almost nothing. Soon a subsidiary of the symphony was founded here, the “Colloseum” records.
A name apparently based on the building in Rome that the Nazis wanted to surpass in size in Nuremberg.
A studio was also built here, in which the symphonic musicians rehearsed and made recordings: Jungle Book with Elmar Gunsch, for example. In the 1980s, the studio was expanded to include the Serenadenhof, located in an inner courtyard of the head buildings: covered with tents, grown in, an open-air dream in summer – a wonderfully green oasis in the middle of the city.
There has also been a concert hall since 2011, and the Symphoniker use the former interim site of the playhouse. For large symphonic performances, the orchestra still has to move to the Meistersingerhalle.
But silent films with a live orchestra, for example, that’s what we do. Our hall has 500 seats, it has something intimate, almost family-like.
Does the area affect your schedule?
Yes, insofar as we are sometimes doing a deliberately counteracting program here. 70 years of Israel were celebrated in our hall, as well as 1700 years of Jewish life – in cooperation with the Israelite religious community. And one thing is also clear: we would never think of performing “Les Préludes” by Liszt here.
The theme song for the Wehrmacht report in the “Wochenschau”.
Otherwise, one can no longer claim that it would be somehow strange if culture took place in the congress hall. Quite apart from the concerts by guest promoters: Annett Louisan, BAP, Helge Schneider and so on.
The debate as to whether musical culture, such as Wagner operas, should be performed there is also simmering on a much smaller flame than the question of where the performance building for an interim opera should go. As a neighbor, you are entitled to have an opinion on this.
So: Basically, we are absolutely thrilled that the interim will come here. So far we’ve been a bit on the sidelines: The Symphoniker? They’re somewhere at the dozen pond – almost off-scene. This is now the center of cultural life in Nuremberg.
But?
With the inner courtyard of the NS Horseshoe as a venue, we would have a bad stomach ache. After the renovation of the entrance to the Dokuzentrum, every vehicle will have to pass our music hall, our studio and our offices to get there. During the construction period, this means heavy goods traffic passing the staff entrance for several years and I don’t know how we can keep our operations going.
So the venue would have to be built outside the Nazi torso?
We’ve already thought about that, too. The side facing away from the sea is hardly an option due to the traffic. On the fairground? It would have something theatrical, but it wasn’t intended that way – and the showmen certainly wouldn’t find it exciting either. The side to the dozen pond remains. It’s predestined.
Roughly where – before the Nazis came with their monster building – there used to be a lighthouse?
Roughly yes. Anyone who has ever been to the KKL, the concert hall on Lake Lucerne in Lucerne, knows how fascinating such a place can be. I think that would be fabulous as a statement of change: the new building could outshine the old congress hall in terms of its importance, emphasis and perception. A welcoming gesture. That would not hide the interim, as if it were not allowed to be seen.
And then after ten years away with it again?
Absolutely not! I strongly advocate planning this performance hall from the outset in such a way that after the period as an interim opera house it can be used as the new, large Nuremberg concert hall. That would be self-confident! And you wouldn’t duck away from the monstrous backdrop with that.
Do you think such dual planning can be enforced in the city?
I noticed that people are still hesitant about it. But that’s probably mainly because the city is under extreme time pressure, the interim for the opera is supposed to be finished in 2025. can i understand everything On the other hand: Now you have shown such courage with the decision to transform this Nazi building – if you are honest, so far there is only a bit of culture here and significantly more storage and vacancies. Now the city would have the huge opportunity to rededicate this building to the dark side of its history in a meaningful and permanent way. You should take the time to plan an interim building that will later be used for concerts. You only get this chance once! Especially since such planning would be significantly more sustainable than a purely interim construction. And in my opinion, sustainability is a must these days!
The costs remain.
It’s true. But even in the culture-loving scene there are one or two people who have a stomach ache in view of the sums in question for the renovation of the opera house, including the interim building, of half a billion euros. I’m convinced that acceptance among the population would increase considerably if all this resulted in a new concert hall, which is so much needed in Nuremberg. That would be a whole new narrative! Especially since such a house would not be reserved for symphonic music: jazz, world music, choirs, festivals, everything could be let in there. So a meeting place. Something like that belongs where people like to meet. Here that would be: by the water.