This opera house in Essen was designed by Aalto as early as the year 1959, but was only finally realized several years after the death of the architect. The external cladding of the building is reminiscent of a keyboard. the interior of the building is designed with a great emphasis on the looseness of space and quality acoustics. Aalto - Theater has received numerous prizes for its remarkable character in recent times (the finest opera house in a German speaking country, etc.).