Regensburg in April

A German proverb says that the weather in spring month April is generally unpredictable. However, you can count on the predictability of our Regensburg city magazine and their editorial team. Like every month, we present the cultural program of the World Heritage City for all guests and new arrivals to the city with interesting information, in perfect style. Also we recommend exhibitions, music and stage performances to you in our City Guide.

Art
Beginning on April 4th, the Berufsverband Bildender Künstler (Professional Association of Artists) will be holding an extraordinary art exhibition that brings Polish and German artists together under the roofs of the Minoritenkirche and the Leerer Beutel City Gallery. With over 70 participating artists, the generously proportioned exhibition will deal with Catholicism in contemporary art. It will cover virtually the entire spectrum of the artistic world, ranging from symbolism (bread and wine) to the association and iconographic peculiarities in Christian art. Particularly outstanding works, for example, by Joseph Beuys and Tadeusz Kantor, will also be on display.
While the graphic exhibition of Lovis Corinth’s work in the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie is more traditional, it is by no means less sophisticated. It is the most comprehensive collection of works by this in modern art. The Kunstforum will also be showing photographs by writer Arno Schmidt.
Music
J.S. Bach’s magnum opus, the St. Matthew Passion, will be performed on April 3rd, at 7 pm in the Audimax hall of the University by a renowned soloist ensemble, the Concerto Köln orchestra. The Regensburg Cathedral Choir will take on the challenging vocal compositions under the direction of Roland Büchner. The more expressive St. John Passion will be performing on April 10th at 6 pm at the same location. The Regensburg Kantorei Choir will be singing under the direction of church music director Roman Emilius. For something quite different, the city’s jazz orchestra will be holding a concert dedicated to Duke Ellington in the Leerer Beutel on April 13th, at 8 pm. On April 9th, at 8 pm the band Boom Pam from Tel Aviv will be taking the Kulturtheater Gloria by storm for an easy, light-hearted and almost certainly loud rock party.
Stage
The city theater has scheduled five April performances of the revolutionary opera Andrea Chenier by Umberto Giordano. Theatergoers can expect an elaborate production with extravagant costumes. The vocal ensemble thrilled the audience at the premiere. Dates and times: April 16th, 19th, at 3 pm and April 22nd, 25th, and 30th, at 7:30 pm. Ballet enthusiasts can look forward to Der Spiegel im Spiegel (The Mirror in the Mirror), a new dance theater work by local ballet director Olaf Schmidt (April 3rd and 5th, at 7:30 pm). Another dance piece by Olaf Schmidt, Hundert Jahre Einsamkeit (One Hundred Years of Solitude), will also be performed to themes by Gabriel García Márquez on April 22nd, at 7:30 pm. See www.theaterregensburg.de for more information.
Sightseeing
Beginning from Easter, the Predigtscheune (the late-Gothic Dominican Church) will be open to visitors. Built in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest, largest and most stunning churches of its’ kind. The outstanding interior includes mural paintings and tombs from various eras as well as a late-Gothic Madonna. The 15th century auditorium can also be viewed as part of a tour. Opening hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 2 pm to 4 pm.
Relations between Ireland and Regensburg were extremely close in the early Middle Ages. The Romanesque Scots Church of St. Jakob is testament to this connection. The church’s most famous architectural element is perhaps its enigmatic north portal. Tours are offered every Sunday at 2 pm and the doors to this church’s mystical atmosphere are open daily from 6 am to 6 pm.

14.04.09 - online redaktion