The Landestheater Coburg is one of those implausible small-city opera houses that Germany does better than anywhere else — a full professional ensemble, a historic building, and a programme that covers opera, drama, and ballet for a population of around 40,000 people. It has been here since 1827, when the Coburg court decided that a proper theatre was essential to ducal prestige, and the tradition has continued despite the many upheavals since.
The building itself is a handsome neo-Baroque structure on the edge of the old town, and the interior retains its nineteenth-century character. Performances run through the season from September to June, and tickets are remarkably affordable by German standards. If a production happens to be on during your visit, it is worth going — the standard is consistently high, and the experience of opera in a 650-seat historic house is quite different from a major city venue.