Understanding Theater Rankings

It’s important to know a theater’s rating, if only to have realistic expectations about where an agent is sending you in order to asses salary expectations. Aspiring singers should not confuse ranking with desirability. Many singers will want to sing good major roles in a B, C, or even D theater…rather than minor roles for several years in a major house. However, the exposure to world-class singing and productions does have its advantages and offers entry, otherwise not available. If you have the choice you must decide what best suits you, your developmental arc, and your skill set. There can be great satisfaction in making a long life singing great roles in a small theater, as well as the obvious joys of making great music all over the world and lots of money to boot!

This list is based on wikipedia.de’s list of public theaters, but I have made minor changes to better reflect the singer’s perspective. The official rating are based on orchestra pay, number of seats and several other factors which don’t always exactly reflect how agents and singers view the theater. It’s important to know the difference so you can be discerning when making decisions on where you want to work in Germany.

German Theaters / Rankings

A LEVEL THEATERS

These theaters are supported by the national government as well as the state and local governments. They get lots more money & it shows in the overall quality of their productions.

Labels Used: Staat (long [Ah] vowel) = “State” / National = “National”

A1+ Theaters

Staatsoper Berlin / https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en/

Deutsch Oper Berlin / https://deutscheoperberlin.de/de_DE/home

Semperoper Dresden / https://www.semperoper.de/

Oper Leipzig / https://www.oper-leipzig.de/en

Bayerisches Staatsoper / https://www.staatsoper.de/

A1 Theaters

Komische Oper Berlin / https://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/

Theater Bonn / https://www.theater-bonn.de/

Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf) / https://www.operamrhein.de/

Staatsoper Hamburg / https://www.staatsoper-hamburg.de

Oper Köln / https://www.oper.koeln/en/

Staatstheater Stuttgart / https://www.staatstheater-stuttgart.de/

A Theaters

Staatstheater Braunschweig / https://staatstheater-braunschweig.de/

Theater Bremen / https://www.theaterbremen.de/

Theater Chemnitz / https://www.theater-chemnitz.de/

Staatstheater Darmstadt / https://www.staatstheater-darmstadt.de/

Theater Dortmund / https://www.theaterdo.de/oper/startseite/

Bühnen Halle / https://www.buehnen-halle.de/de/

Staatstheater Kassel / https://www.staatstheater-kassel.de/

Natioinaltheater Mannheim / https://www.nationaltheater-mannheim.de/

Staatstheater Nürnberg / https://www.staatstheater-nuernberg.de/

Volkstheater Rostock / https://www.volkstheater-rostock.de/

Staatstheater Saarbrücken / https://www.staatstheater.saarland/

Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater (Schwerin) / https://www.mecklenburgisches-staatstheater.de/start.html

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden / https://www.staatstheater-wiesbaden.de/

Oper Wuppertal / https://www.oper-wuppertal.de/

A2 Theaters

Theater Duisburg / https://www.theater-duisburg.de/

Theater Essen / https://www.theater-essen.de/oper/

Oper Frankfurt / https://oper-frankfurt.de/

Staatstheater Hannover / https://staatstheater-hannover.de/de_DE/home

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe / https://www.staatstheater.karlsruhe.de/programm/oper/

Gärtnerplatz Theater (München) / https://www.gaertnerplatztheater.de/de/start/index.html

National Theater Weimar / https://www.nationaltheater-weimar.de/en/index.php

B THEATERS

They’re generally B level theaters but some are considered A1 or A2 if they are located in a big and wealthy city which can support an A1 international level opera house. If you get a job in a Stadtstheater you become a city employee.

Labels Used:

Stadt (short [Ah] vowel) = “City”

Städtische Bühnen = “City Stages”

Stadtstheater = City Theatre

Theater Aachen / https://www.theateraachen.de/de/start/index.html

Staatstheater Augsburg / https://staatstheater-augsburg.de/home

Theater Bielefeld / https://theater-bielefeld.de/

Landestheater Coburg / https://www.landestheater-coburg.de/

Landestheater Detmold / https://www.landestheater-detmold.de/de/

Landesbühnen Sachsen (Radebeul) / https://www.landesbuehnen-sachsen.de/

Staatsoperette Dresden / https://www.staatsoperette.de/

Theater Freiburg / https://theater.freiburg.de/de_DE/home

Theater Altenburg Gera / https://www.tpthueringen.de/

Theater Hagen / https://www.theaterhagen.de/

Theater Heidelberg / https://www.theaterheidelberg.de/en/

Theater Hof / https://www.theater-hof.de/

Pfalztheater (Kaiserslautern) / https://pfalztheater.de/

Theater Kiel / https://www.theater-kiel.de/

Theater Lübeck / https://www.theaterluebeck.de/start/index.html

Staatstheater Mainz / https://www.staatstheater-mainz.com/

Staatstheater Meiningen / https://www.staatstheater-meiningen.de/start/index.html

Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach / https://theater-kr-mg.de/

Theater Münster / https://www.theater-muenster.com/

Theater Neubrandenburg Neustrelitz / https://tog.de/

Theater Nordhausen Nordhause / https://theater-nordhausen.de/

Oldenburgisches Staatstheater / https://staatstheater.de/startseite

Theater Osnabrück / https://www.theater-osnabrueck.de/

Theater Plauen-Zwickau / https://www.theater-plauen-zwickau.de/

Theater Regensburg / https://www.theaterregensburg.de/start/index.html

Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landestheater / https://www.sh-landestheater.de/

Maiinfrankentheater Würzburg / https://www.mainfrankentheater.de/en/

B1 Theaters

Staatstheater Cottbus (Brandenburg) / https://www.staatstheater-cottbus.de/

Anhaltisches Theater Dessau / https://anhaltisches-theater.de/

Theater Erfurt / https://www.theater-erfurt.de/

Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen / https://www.ruhrbuehnen.de/en/theatres/musiktheater-im-revier-gelsenkirchen/

Theater Vorpommern (Greifswald) / https://www.theater-vorpommern.de/de

Theater Koblenz / https://theater-koblenz.de/

Theater Magdeburg / https://www.theater-magdeburg.de/en/

C & D THEATERS

County or Municipal theaters. They often perform in various smaller theaters and are primarily rated C & D but can be rated from B to D level as well.

Labels Used:

Land = loosely translates “County” or “Municipal”

“Landestheater” = County Theatre

C Theaters

Brandeburgertheater / https://www.brandenburgertheater.de/spielplan.html

Stadttheater Bremerhaven / https://stadttheaterbremerhaven.de/startseite/

Landestheater Eisenach / https://www.landestheater-eisenach.de/start/index.html

Theater Görlitz / https://www.g-h-t.de/

Theater Rudolstadt / https://theater-rudolstadt.de/

Theater Trier / https://theater-trier.de/

Theater Ulm / https://www.theater-ulm.de/

D Theaters