Cuvilliés Theatre – the theatre of the Munich Residence

The theatre, which today bears the name of the architect who designed it, François Cuvilliés the Elder, was built in the immediate vicinity of the residence and saw numerous magnificent productions, including the premiere of Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’.

On 18 March 1944, however, the theatre building was completely destroyed. Only the carved and painted wooden tiered seating of the auditorium survived, because they had been moved to a storage site in 1943. In 1958, after extensive restoration work, these fixtures were installed in the so-called Apothekenstock (Apothecary Floor) of the Munich Residenz and the old theatre was reconstructed in this new location.

The new theatre building is accessible from the Brunnenhof of the Residenz. The reconstructed theatre auditorium in white, red and gold from the mid-18th century, with its exuberant figural and ornamental decoration in the ‘style rocaille’, is considered a major work of the Bavarian rococo.