Markus Kupferblum (born 12 June 1964) is an Austrian theatre and opera director, playwright and clown. He founded the first Austrian Fringe Opera Company, Totales Theater, in Vienna and is an expert on ''

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 ...

'' and mask theatre. Markus Kupferblum at his piano - Vienna 2007

He studied at the University of Vienna, at the School of Philippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux in Paris and at New York University. He was assistant to Antoine Vitez and Achim Freyer. Since 2013, he has been the founder and director of the interdisciplinary music theatre ensemble Schlüterwerke in Vienna. He has directed and shown productions in France, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Belgium, the United States of America, Korea, Armenia, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Russia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Peru, Turkey, Switzerland, and Italy. He was awarded the ''"1. Prix de l'Humour"'' at the

Avignon Festival The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...

in 1993 and is known for working across the genres of opera, circus, theatre, and film and exploring unusual performance spaces for his productions. In 2007 he received the

Nestroy Theatre Prize The Nestroy Theatre Prize is an Austrian theatre award named after the poet Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the ...

for the best German-language fringe production for his play ''The Abandoned Dido''. In 2012 he founded the European Theatre Day of Tolerance which is commemorated on every 1 February. On this occasion a Memorandum for peace and tolerance is read before the performances of almost 1,000 theaters throughout Europe and beyond. In 2013 his book ''Die Geburt der Neugier aus dem Geist der Revolution. Die Commedia dell'Arte als politisches Volkstheater'' was published by Facultas, Vienna University Press. He has taught acting, directing and creative writing at, for example, the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

Max Reinhardt Seminar The Max Reinhardt Seminar (Reinhardt Seminar) is the School of Drama at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Palais Cumberland, Penzingerstraße 9, in Vienna's 14th district (). History A ''Lehr ...

, University of Music and Performing Arts (Vienna),

University of Applied Arts A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

(Vienna),

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Michigan University , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Southeastern Louisiana University,

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, New Haven,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

und der CUNY University, both in New York City, and the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

in Boston, the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt, Theaterakademie August Everding München, Escuela Nacional del Teatro de Bolivia, and others. Since 2018 he has been Senior Lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, where he teaches opera directing and drama for singers. 2019 he received the Operetta Award "Operetten Frosch" by the Bavarian National Radio for his production of the Operetta Cloclo by Franz Lehár. He is a member of the International P.E.N. Club.

Notes

External links

Website of Markus Kupferblum

Literature by Markus Kupferblum
in the catalogue of the Austrian National Library
Joanneum National Museum – The Power of Masks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupferblum, Markus 1964 births Austrian clowns Austrian male writers Austrian theatre directors Living people