Daniel Kramer (born January 15, 1977) is an American-born theatre, opera and dance director. He was appointed Artistic Director of the
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
in April 2016.
Early life and education
Kramer was born on a sheep farm in
Wadsworth, Ohio
Wadsworth is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. It is counted as part of the Cleveland metropolitan area, although it functions mainly as a suburb of Akron. Founded on March 1, 1814, the city was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, a ...
, US. He graduated salutatorian from Wadsworth High School. At
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, he earned a
BGS in Interdisciplinary Arts: Theatre, Performance Studies and Dance with a Music Theatre Certificate, graduating ''
Summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
''. He then pursued three years of practical graduate studies at the
Ecole de Mime Corporel Dramatique (the technique of
Étienne Decroux
Étienne Decroux (19 July 1898 in Paris, France – 12 March 1991 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France) was a French actor who studied at Jacques Copeau's École du Vieux-Colombier, where he saw the beginnings of what was to become his life's obsess ...
) in London; ''
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' with Maestro Antonia Fava in Italy; and finally at London's Circus Space, now the
National Centre for Circus Arts
The National Centre for Circus Arts (formerly the Circus Space) is a professional circus school in the Hoxton area of Shoreditch in London that offers one of the UK's only university degree programmes in circus. It is a leading centre for contemp ...
.
Career
Kramer has had a prolific directing career with a variety of stage and opera companies. His work is known for its striking visuals and emotional intensity. He began his professional career with
Franz Xaver Kroetz
Franz Xaver Kroetz (; born 25 February 1946) is a German author, playwright, actor and film director. He achieved great success beginning in the early 1970s. ''Persistent'', '' Farmyard'', and ''Request Concert'', all written in 1971, are some o ...
's ''Through the Leaves'', starring
Ann Mitchell
Ann Mitchell (born 22 April 1939) is a British stage and television actress. She came to prominence in the 1980s when she starred as Dolly Rawlins in the crime series ''Widows'' as well as the sequels '' Widows 2'' and ''She's Out'', all writte ...
and
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...
, at
Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations.
History
The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...
: the production was transferred to the West End. He next reimagined
Büchner Büchner (or Buechner) is a German language surname related to the word ''Buche'' (german: beech) and may refer to:
* Eberhard Büchner (born 1939), German tenor
* Ernst Büchner (1850–1925), German chemist after whom the Büchner flask and Büc ...
's ''
Woyzeck
''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...
'' and the anti-war musical ''
Hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
'' for the
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928.
History Beginnings
The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Ge ...
, Notting Hill. Both shows garnered his first award nominations.
Between 2004 and 2006 he was Associate Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre; between 2005 and 2006 he was Creative Associate at the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
; between 2008 and 2012 he was an Associate at the
Young Vic
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
. During this time, he was noted as a "directing talent worth reckoning with". His commercial debut was
Martin Sherman
Martin Gerald Sherman (born December 22, 1938) is an American dramatist and screenwriter best known for his 20 stage plays which have been produced in over 60 countries. He rose to fame in 1979 with the production of his play '' Bent'', which e ...
's ''
Bent'', starring
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...
and newcomer
Chris New
Chris New (born 17 August 1981) is an English film and stage actor best known for his starring role in the 2011 film '' Weekend''. New made his screen writing and directorial debut in 2013 with the short film ''Ticking''. He co-wrote the 2014 i ...
, followed by the UK's first national revival of
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...
's ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for O ...
'' for
Headlong Theatre
Headlong is a British touring theatre company noted for making bold, innovative productions with some of the UK’s finest artists.
Jeremy Herrin took over the artistic directorship of the company in 2013, and is the current artistic director.
Ar ...
.
In 2008 Kramer directed his first opera,
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...
's ''
Punch & Judy'' for the
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
at the Young Vic which subsequently played the
Grand Théâtre de Genève
Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland.
As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, official ...
. His popular but controversial ''
Bluebeard's Castle
''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' ( hu, A kékszakállú herceg vára, link=no, or ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act expressionism, expressionist opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet ...
'' for the English National Opera was conducted by
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...
for the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
and
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
. Kramer and Gergiev subsequently collaborated on ''
Pelleas and Melisande
Pelleas , or Pellias, is an Arthurian Knight of the Round Table whose story first appears in the Post-Vulgate Cycle. He becomes the husband of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake in ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. His character might have been connected to the ...
''.
His first dance collaboration, ''Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition'', played at the Young Vic and
Sadlers Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
. His radical rethink of ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' – set in
Seville, Ohio
Seville is a village in Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,296 at the 2010 census.
History
Seville was platted in 1828. It was named after Seville, in Spain.
A post office was established in Seville in 1830.
Geography
Sev ...
– played at
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
and
Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...
. Kramer created the award-winning production of ''
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
'' in Melbourne, Australia starring
Esther Hannaford
Esther Hannaford is an Australian singer and actor who has performed major roles in musical theatre in Australia. Her roles include Penny Pingleton in the original Australian cast of ''Hairspray'', for which she received a Helpmann Award, Ann ...
. His ''Tristan and Isolde'' for the ENO, designed by
Anish Kapoor
Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK ...
, premiered during the 2015/2016 opera season. His ''
Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' at the Grand Théâtre de Genève was cancelled by the director of the Grand Théâtre owing to the artistic angle taken by Kramer, who wanted to focus on the violence present in the opera, whereas the director wanted a more festive and traditional approach.
He was appointed Artistic Director of the English National Opera in April 2016.
Kramer has also been a guest artist and professor at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
,
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in Illinois and the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
in London.
Awards and nominations
Kramer was the winner of the South Bank Show Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for the
ENO at the Young Vic season 2008, and was nominated for the
Golden Mask award
The Golden Mask (russian: Золотая Маска, ''zolotaya maska'') is a Russian theatre festival and the National Theatre Award established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre ar ...
for Best Director for ''
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
'', at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.
Personal life
Kramer has been in relationships with the actor
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...
and with fashion designer
Jurgen Oeltjenbruns.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Daniel
1977 births
Living people
People from Wadsworth, Ohio
20th-century American LGBT people
LGBT theatre directors
American opera directors
21st-century American LGBT people