Erich Schumacher (24 December 1908 – 5 September 1986) was a German theatre director.

Career

Schumacher was born in

Kenzingen Kenzingen () is a town in the district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Elz, 23 km north of Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ...

. When in the period of National Socialism Schumacher took over the direction of the

Pfalztheater The Pfalztheater is a theatre building and company in the German city of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatine. It is the only three-genre venue in the state, putting on music, drama and dance. The town's first theatre was built in 1862, financed by ...

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

at the age of 29 (1938), he was Germany's youngest

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

. From 1940 until 1945, he was director of the . From 1949 until 1958, he was

general director A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach gGmbH is a daughter company of the German cities Krefeld and Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway betwee ...

. From 1958 to 1974, Schumacher held the same position at the

Grillo-Theater Grillo-Theater is a theatre in Essen, Germany. Named after the industrialist Friedrich Grillo, who made the building possible, it opened on 16 September 1892 with Lessing's drama ''Minna von Barnhelm''. The building was badly damaged in World ...

. Together with his dramaturge , he set artistic accents that shaped the theatre in Essen until the 1980s. He worked for many years with the general music director

Gustav König Gustav König (12 August 1910 – 5 February 2005) was a German conductor and music director in Essen. Life König was born at Schwabach in Bavaria in 1910 and educated at the local ''Gymnasium'' (Grammar school) and conservatory in his hom ...

as well as the directors Paul Hager,

Claus Leininger Claus Leininger (17 January 1931 – 22 February 2005) was a German stage director in theatre and opera, and an intendant (general manager). He shaped the artistic profile of the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, nicknamed the Ruhr- Scala du ...

and the choreographer . His time in Essen is also linked to the names of

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

, Paul Claudel, Rolf Hochhuth and Peter Weiss, some of whose pieces were even premiered in Essen. Schumacher died in Essen at the age of 77.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schumacher, Erich German theatre directors Nazi Party members Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1908 births 1986 deaths People from Freiburg im Breisgau

Career

Further reading

References

External links