Culture in NRW
The cultural landscape of North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the most creative regions of the world. Its unique amount of theatres and concert halls, their high quality and not to forget the Buildings developed by star architects bring international reputation.
With 18 public theatres of the cities, four state theatres and over 139 theatre stages of 17.84 million inhabitants, North Rhine-Westphalia shows the highest theatre concentration of all German states with 15 opera houses, 22 orchestras, 13 ballet companies and 20 straight theatres. About 800 different productions are presented per year, among them 100 new productions in the music theatre. Names like Pina Bausch, Max Ernst, Emil Schumacher, Joseph Beuys or the married couple Becher stand for the artistic avant-garde of world-class, not to mention the names of passed days like van Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann or Heine and Böll associated with North Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore the varied programme, the experimental character – as part of international festivals like Ruhrtriennale or Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen – and the high acceptance by the audience distinguish the theatre landscape of North Rhine-Westphalia.