Orpheum

Eight bands celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Graz institution

It's still a few days away, but anticipation is the best kind of joy. On October 26, a total of eight top Austrian bands will march out to celebrate the 125th birthday of the Graz Orpheum in both the large and small halls.

This year, Graz theater audiences still have many reasons to celebrate the various birthdays of the individual theaters. The Orpheum, which incidentally opened as a variety theater in the same year as the opera, can look back on 125 exciting years. Until 1936, it was a kind of antithesis to the high culture on the other bank of the Mur, putting on sultry variety shows, also housing a dining room and playing in a pavilion on the forecourt in summer. 

From cemetery to beer hall
Its history is also exciting. Originally, the area was home to the landscaped garden in front of the Murthore, which was rededicated as a plague cemetery around 1620. This was abandoned in 1780 and a flourishing restaurant was built on it. Around 1860, the Puntigam brewery took over the pub and turned it into a beer hall, but it was not particularly successful. Finally, in 1896, the local council approved the construction of the Variety Theater, which opened in 1899.

From 1950, it was home to the cabaret and finally a more or less successful cinema. In the 1960s it became the House of Youth, offering concerts as well as children's theater, and since the early 1990s it has been the Orpheum, a place where international superstars, well-known bands, young local musicians, cabaret artists, authors, actors and Punch and Judy have all come together. And where many Styrians have collected many memories.

The 125th anniversary will be celebrated on 26 October with a top-class party organized by Bernd Hecke. Four bands can be seen in the main hall - Ina Regen, Alle Achtung, Anna Mabo & die Buben and Erwin & Edwin - and four more in the Orpheum extra - Yasmo & die Klangkantine and Hearts Hearts as well as local heroes Kobrakasino and Grand Hotel Schilling.

Venue manager Bernhard Rinner, who himself got a taste of the stage at Haus am Volksgarten when he was six years old, is not only looking forward to this party, but also to the new sponsor Merkur Versicherung. 

Tickets for this rousing birthday party are already available, and with this offer, probably not for long. All information can be found on the venue website.