CULTURAL PLEASURE MEETS SEATING CULTURE.
CLEAR THE STAGE FOR THE NEW CLUB LOUNGE IN THE FESTSPIELHAUS BADEN-BADEN.
The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023 with a musical fireworks display. In line with this cultural extravaganza, Germany’s largest privately-financed opera house is now showcasing its recently upgraded lounge area – furnished by Rolf Benz. An interview with CEO Dr. Ursula Koners and Artistic Director and Co-CEO Benedikt Stampa.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary. Are you in the mood to party?
Benedikt Stampa: Absolutely. 25 years of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is something really special. Our whole team feels it. We’re enjoying the attention and are grateful and proud that we can work together with the major artists of our time. It’s always a huge privilege to put top-class, sensational productions on the stage in Baden-Baden and to surprise our guests time and time again. We’ve been doing that for the past 25 years. So yes, we couldn't be in a better mood.
From the many wonderful productions in recent years, are there any highlights that especially stand out?
Benedikt Stampa: There have been countless musical highlights in the eventful 25-year history of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. However, for us, the most brilliant and remarkable ones include the opera premières with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Easter Festival, which incidentally were also shown in New York as a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera.
What makes the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden such a special place, even in 2023?
Benedikt Stampa: Baden-Baden is a wonderful, historic city. It’s a glamorous and magical place that is steeped in tradition. Our programme offers an artistic platform for unforgettable cultural events in one of Europe’s largest opera houses. In other words, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is the ideal place for an extremely sophisticated way of life.
The celebrations for the 25th anniversary are in full swing. What can visitors to the Festspielhaus look forward to this year?
Benedikt Stampa: There are many different things to see and experience. There’s the première of the “Werther” opera by Jules Massenet, staged by Robert Carson, as part of our “La Grand Gare” Autumn festival, for example. That’s definitely a real highlight. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman has the title role, by the way, and he’s a real shooting star on the international vocal scene.
Dr. Ursula Koners: Don’t forget the exclusive guest performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra, directed by charismatic principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who – incidentally – is also the musical director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Philadelphia Orchestra is about to play three concerts with us, all of which are dedicated to the great Russian composer Sergej Rachmaninov. We’re really looking forward to these performances. The same goes for “The World of John Neumeier”. This electrifying dance festival will once again draw enthusiastic visitors from all over the world to Baden-Baden, just as it did last year.
Culture and design – a harmonious and timeless connection. Can you explain the long-lasting partnership between the Festspielhaus and Rolf Benz?
Benedikt Stampa: Presumably our partnership has lasted so long because neither side is looking for fleeting relationships and we both place value on stability, reliability and real added value. Both partners have similar standards and values, address similar target groups, and make no compromises whatsoever when it comes to quality. Rolf Benz is very aware of the unique nature of the Festspielhaus as a privately-financed concert and opera house. At the same time, we appreciate the outstanding design expertise that Rolf Benz has to offer, which enables us to give our demanding guests a perfect feel-good experience in every respect.
So which areas of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden have been furnished by Rolf Benz?
Dr. Ursula Koners: During the 2023 summer break, we completely modernised the exclusive Club Lounge in the Festspielhaus with furniture from Rolf Benz. However, we’ve been using Rolf Benz furniture in other areas for quite some time now. Mainly our Aida Café on the second floor, whose lounge-like character was a precursor of what was to become the Club Lounge. We hold our board meetings in the Aida Café, by the way. We enjoy the wonderful atmosphere in the room and we always feel very much at home there. Furniture from Rolf Benz is also used in the Aida Bistro and in the Aida Bar. Each area is individually designed and has its own “fans”. All of the areas that are furnished by Rolf Benz speak a common, unmistakable design language.
Benedikt Stampa: In the past, we’ve also had various “pop-up areas” here with Rolf Benz furniture. When the first Outdoor collection was released, for example, we had one of the new sofas in the foyer. The response to it was incredibly positive. It was the same in the Takeover Festival which takes place every year in February. As part of the festival, the entire foyer is equipped with furniture from the freistil range and staged as a feel-good lounge with background music. An offshoot of this is the freistil corner sofa for our young “Culture Club Gleis 1”. The stylish sofa is never empty at any event.
Culture and design – a harmonious and timeless connection. Can you explain the long-lasting partnership between the Festspielhaus and Rolf Benz?
Benedikt Stampa: Presumably our partnership has lasted so long because neither side is looking for fleeting relationships and we both place value on stability, reliability and real added value. Both partners have similar standards and values, address similar target groups, and make no compromises whatsoever when it comes to quality. Rolf Benz is very aware of the unique nature of the Festspielhaus as a privately-financed concert and opera house. At the same time, we appreciate the outstanding design expertise that Rolf Benz has to offer, which enables us to give our demanding guests a perfect feel-good experience in every respect.
So which areas of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden have been furnished by Rolf Benz?
Dr. Ursula Koners: During the 2023 summer break, we completely modernised the exclusive Club Lounge in the Festspielhaus with furniture from Rolf Benz. However, we’ve been using Rolf Benz furniture in other areas for quite some time now. Mainly our Aida Café on the second floor, whose lounge-like character was a precursor of what was to become the Club Lounge. We hold our board meetings in the Aida Café, by the way. We enjoy the wonderful atmosphere in the room and we always feel very much at home there. Furniture from Rolf Benz is also used in the Aida Bistro and in the Aida Bar. Each area is individually designed and has its own “fans”. All of the areas that are furnished by Rolf Benz speak a common, unmistakable design language.
Benedikt Stampa: In the past, we’ve also had various “pop-up areas” here with Rolf Benz furniture. When the first Outdoor collection was released, for example, we had one of the new sofas in the foyer. The response to it was incredibly positive. It was the same in the Takeover Festival which takes place every year in February. As part of the festival, the entire foyer is equipped with furniture from the freistil range and staged as a feel-good lounge with background music. An offshoot of this is the freistil corner sofa for our young “Culture Club Gleis 1”. The stylish sofa is never empty at any event.
What makes a successful lounge area in a large festival hall? What are the fine details that make guests feel really comfortable?
Dr. Ursula Koners: In terms of the Club Lounge, you have to remember that this room is available to our sponsors and patrons before and during events as a sort of business class lounge. For many guests, it feels like a second living room: a meeting point, somewhere they can relax, but also a place where they can look forward to what they are about to experience and – depending on the performance – sometimes also a place to reflect. The tastes of our visitors are just as versatile as these requirements. That’s why we felt it was particularly important to have a room that was contemporary and timeless with a functional design. We think this has turned out really well in the Club Lounge.
What is the collaboration process for such a refurbishment with Rolf Benz?
Benedikt Stampa: For the Club Lounge, we were in agreement with Rolf Benz right from the start: this special room urgently needed to be revamped. The previous furniture was simply too static and a little too heavy and masculine. It didn't match the brand image of Rolf Benz or that of the Festspielhaus. We had some very intensive discussions about the requirements for the room, the habits and preferences of our guests, the colour scheme and everything else that matters. Rolf Benz then gave us some initial designs based on these. This was followed by an intensive process of fine-tuning the designs, the furniture selection, the positioning and so on. We were really impressed by the colour schemes they suggested right from the start. They are timeless, classic and yet contemporary all at the same time.
Modernising the Club Lounge also resulted in some new seating arrangements. How did this change the atmosphere?
Dr. Ursula Koners: Previously, the room was dominated by heavy bar tables and two rows of armchairs. We have got rid this static structure and everything is more flexible now and the room feels much more airy and inviting as a whole. We deliberately selected the new furniture so that it can easily be moved around if necessary. This modernisation has made the Club Lounge feel considerably more flexible. The room is now much too nice just to use it before and during concerts.
What do you particularly like about the new arrangement? What are your highlights?
Benedikt Stampa: The furniture selection is especially good. We have combined lots of different Rolf Benz models but the Club Lounge doesn’t feel like a furniture exhibition. The wooden tables in walnut add lots of warmth and calm to the whole room. Sooner or later, everyone is bound to find their favourite place here. For some people it’s the bar stools, while for others it’s the dining chairs or even the cosy club armchairs next to the window that they prefer.
Dr. Ursula Koners: We both find these especially comfortable, which is why they are rarely free whenever we are in the Club Lounge.
What do you think makes a good design in 2023?
Dr. Ursula Koners: Personally, I’m a fan of design classics. That’s why I think that good design is timeless and unobtrusive above all else. To quote Coco Chanel: “Fashion fades, only style remains.”
Benedikt Stampa: For me, above all else good design means clarity of form and an elegant style combined with high quality and sustainably-produced materials.
Aside from the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, do you have a personal connection with the Rolf Benz brand?
Benedikt Stampa: I have to pass on that one. Somehow, Rolf Benz didn't quite reach me in Münsterland in the past. However, I’ve had a Rolf Benz seating group in my office for quite some time now, which is extremely popular.
Dr. Ursula Koners: I do actually have a Rolf Benz sofa at home in my office. I like sitting on it during my creative breaks, provided that one of my family members isn’t already sitting on it. It’s extremely comfortable and it’s deliberately positioned so that I can look over Lake Constance from the sofa. Here’s a little fun fact by the way: the designers, Norbert and Silja Beck, who regularly work for Rolf Benz, live really close by.
Can you think of a specific piece of furniture or object from Rolf Benz that you particularly admire? Do you have an absolute favourite?
Dr. Ursula Koners: In the “Rolf Benz World” in Nagold, I recently sat in the solid wood version of the 594 armchair. Together with the corresponding stool, it was incredibly comfortable. I’m trying to find the right spot for it in my own home.
Benedikt Stampa: I don’t have an absolute favourite. Not yet. But my wife and I are keeping our eyes open in any case.
Thank you for taking the time to speak to us despite your very busy schedule. We wish you and your team a successful anniversary year for 2023 with plenty of unforgettable moments.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN BADEN-BADEN.
As well as the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden has plenty of other attractions to offer. Here are some ideas for your next trip to the inspirational spa resort and city of culture on the edge of the Black Forest.