Zurich City Guide - Culture

In addition to high-quality museums and galleries, Zurich has high-calibre chamber and symphony orchestras and one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world. Richard Wagner lived in the Villa Wesendonck (now part of the Museum Rietberg - see Sightseeing). Füssli, the pre-romantic painter, also made his home in Zurich, and it was in Zurich that Tristan Tzara and the other Dadaists formulated their ideas in the Cabaret Voltaire on Spiegelgasse in 1916.

There is an online guide to concerts, cinema and theatre (website: www.kulturinfo.ch). Tickets for events are available from Billettzentrale Zürich (BIZZ), Bahnhofstrasse 9 (tel: (044) 221 2283; website: www.bizz-online.ch), as well as at Jecklin, Rämistrasse 30/42 (tel: (044) 253 7777; website: www.jecklin.ch), Musik Hug, Limmatquai 28-30 (tel: (044) 269 4141; website: www.musikhug.ch) and TicketCorner (tel: 0900 800 800; website: www.ticketcorner.com).

Music: The Opernhaus Zürich, Falkenstrasse 1 (tel: (044) 268 6666; website: www.opernhaus.ch, is the venue for opera and ballet performances. First opened in 1891, its neo-baroque auditorium and location by the lakeside promenade make for a romantic evening. The Zurich Chamber Orchestra or Zürcher Kammerorchester (tel: 0848 848 844; website: www.zko.ch) plays at the Tonhalle, Gotthardstrasse 5 (tel: (044) 206 3434; website: www.tonhalle.ch), from August to June, while the Tonhalle Orchester (website: www.tonhalle.ch), founded in 1868, performs symphonic concerts. The Tonhalle is renowned for its acoustics and has two halls - the larger seats nearly 1,500 and the smaller over 600. Part of the Kongresshaus Zürich, it was built in 1895 and the concert chamber was inaugurated by Johannes Brahms.

Theatre: The Schauspielhaus Zürich, Zeltweg 5 (tel: (044) 258 7777; website: www.schauspielhaus.ch), is one of the largest and most important theatres in Switzerland. Some 14 new productions are staged here each year, varying from Shakespeare to Zurich's own Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Built in the late 19th century, the theatre comprises the main auditorium and the more intimate Buhne 5. It also has a further venue, the Schauspielhaus im Schiffbau, Schiffbaustrasse (tel: (0244) 258 7777), with two auditoria showing more alternative and off-beat productions.

Dance: Zurich's ballet company, the Zürcher Balletts, performs at the Opernhaus, Falkenstrasse 1 (tel: (044) 268 6666; website: www.opernhaus.ch). Modern and experimental dance can be seen in a number of venues, including the Rote Fabrik, Seestrasse 395 (tel: (044) 485 5828; website: www.rotefabrik.ch).

Film: Films shown in Zurich are almost always in the original language with subtitles. Open-air screenings take place on the lakeside at Zürichhorn (website: www.orangecinema.ch) in July and August. There are some 50 cinemas in the city, including repertory and art house cinemas such as Xenix, Kanzleistrasse 56 (tel: (044) 242 0411; website: www.xenix.ch). There are also a number of multi-screen cinemas showing the latest mainstream films. The 12-screen Abaton complex, Heinrichstrasse 269 (tel: 0900 556 789; website: www.kitag.com), is the largest.

KinoTel (tel: 0900 900 999) provides information on screenings and ticket bookings.

Literary Notes: James Joyce worked on Ulysses (1922) in Zurich, at the same time as the Dadaists were creating at the Cabaret Voltaire. Joyce died in Zurich in 1941 and lies buried in Fluntern Cemetery. The Zürich James Joyce Foundation, Augustinergasse 9, has a library and organises readings of works by Joyce and other modern writers. Thomas Mann lived in the Zurich area before WWII and again in the 1950s - the Thomas Mann Archiv, at the Federal Institute of Technology, Schönberggasse 15, houses his manuscripts, library and study. He died in Zurich in 1955 and is buried in Kilchberg, to the south of the city. The 19th-century German playwright Georg Büchner lived and died at Spiegelgasse 12.Another of Zurich's literary residents, 19th-century poet Gottfried Keller is best known for his autobiographical novel, Der Grüne Heinrich (Green Henry, 1855) and the 1876 novella, Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (Romeo and Juliet in the Village), which transposes Shakespeare's famous tragedy to a small Swiss village. The playwrights Max Frisch, author of Stiller (I'm Not Stiller, 1954), and Friedrich Dürrenmatt, who penned Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit, 1956), are yet more famous literary Zürchers.