The Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) celebrates its 60th birthday on 15 December 2019. In 1959 the "New Gelsenkirchen Theatre" opened as a synthesis of architecture, visual arts and music based on the joint designs of Walter Ruhnaus, Harald Deilmanns, Ortwin Raves and Max von Hausens. The democratic concept of the open, glass foyer, the lines of sight to the city, the combination of architecture and fine arts as the cultural centre of the Gelsenkirchen working-class city was visionary - and still is today. The MiR is celebrating its anniversary with various events in honour of the building, which was named the Big Beautiful Building in 2018.

The celebrations will begin on Saturday 14 December 2019 with festive speeches and music in the Great House. A subsequent film night with documentaries and feature films about the MiR will invite interested visitors to discover and celebrate the MiR more closely. On Sunday, 15 December, General Director Michael Schulz will give a guided tour of the music theatre at 11 a.m. to mark the anniversary. The opera "Die Sache Makropulos", which will be performed in the Großer Haus at 3 p.m., will conclude the anniversary. In cooperation with the Gelsenkirchen Art Museum and the Institute for Urban History, the panel discussion "Spielraum der Demokratie" will also take place in advance on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. Starting at 7:30 p.m., Dr. Frank Schmitz (University of Hamburg), Dr. Alexandra Apfelbaum (TU Dortmund), Dr. Daniel Schmidt (Institute for Urban History, Gelsenkirchen) and Clemens Arens (Urban Planning, Gelsenkirchen) will discuss the groundbreaking theatre building of the MiR.

Further information to the music theatre in the district finds itself under www. www.bigbeautifulbuildings.de/objekte. Everything to the ceremonies around the 60th anniversary gives it under www.musiktheater-im-revier.de.