The Staatsoper Stuttgart is one of Europe's foremost opera houses and at the same time a branch of Europe's largest tripartite theatre.
The Wurttemberg State Theatres, comprising the Stuttgart Opera, the Schauspiel Stuttgart theatre company and the Stuttgart Ballet, have been operating successfully since the year 1994 under a model of management which is unique within Germany: all three sectors are completely autonomous, both from an artistic and from an economic point of view, under the administration of their respective directors. The Stuttgart Opera repeatedly provides important impulses for today's music theatre scene and enjoys a reputation as one of the world's leading opera houses. The company chooses to operate as an ensemble theatre.
The opera alone draws some 230 000 visitors each season; the opera house can seat up to 1404. There are also performances in the Kammertheater (Chamber Theatre) in the New State Gallery, which has a capacity of 200. The Stuttgart State Opera has won the "Opera House of the Year" award six times already. The State Opera Chorus is one of the best choruses in European music theatre and has been awarded the title of "Opera Chorus of the Year" no fewer than thirteen times. Stuttgart's State Orchestra has also received the "Orchestra of the Year" award.
