Michael Simon (born 25 January 1958,

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). History The city was fi ...

, Germany) is a German

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, United States, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums b ...

and scenic designer.

Career

Michael Simon is a German designer and director for ballet, theater and opera. His designs have been seen all over the world from Australia to Canada and the US, from Japan to China and throughout Europe. He has worked for many years with the choreographers

Jiri Kylian Jiri ( ne, जिरी) is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people.. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the m ...

and William Forsythe. The titles of some of the works are ''Isabel's Dance'', ''

Impressing the Czar ''Impressing the Czar'' is a four-act, award-winning, postmodern Judith MackrelImpressing the Czar: Sadler's Wells, London The Guardian, 7 November 2008 ballet choreographed by William Forsythe to music by Thom Willems, Leslie Stuck, Eva Crossma ...

'', ''Limb's Theorem'',

Kaguyahime is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story detail ...

, ''Stepping Stones'', ''Whereabouts Unknown'', ''Wings of Wax'',

Arcimboldo Giuseppe Arcimboldo (; also spelled ''Arcimboldi'') (1526 or 1527 – 11 July 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish and books. These w ...

, ''One of a kind'', ''Doux Messonges'' and ''Zugvögel''. His working relationship as stage designer with

Pierre Audi Pierre Audi (born 1957 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a French-Lebanese theatre director and artistic director. Early life Audi is the son of the Lebanese banker Raymond Audi and Andrée Michel Fattal, the eldest of three children.Claudio Monteverdi's Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and continued until 2011 with the production of the two Iphigenie operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck. Amongst other designs the most important were ''Writing to Vermeer'', directed by

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...

and Saskia Boddecke in the Amsterdam opera, ''Wozzeck'' at the Brussels opera, directed by David Freemann,

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

's drama ''Tête d'or'' directed by Anne Delbee at Comédie Française, Paris, ''The Peony Pavilion'', a ballet with choreography by Fei Bo directed by Li Liuyi for the National Ballet of China, Beijing. Michael Simon started directing his own projects with ''Elements of Crime'' (1988) at the Nederlands Dans Theater, ''Newtons Casino'' (1990), ''Roman Dogs'' (1991) - together with composer

Heiner Goebbels Heiner Goebbels (born 17 August 1952) is a German composer, conductor and professor at Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen and artistic director of the International Festival of the Arts Ruhrtriennale 2012–14. His composition ''Stifters Dinge ...

- for Theater am Turm in Frankfurt and produced two Ballets for the Bayrischische Staatsoper ''

In the Country of Last Things ''In the Country of Last Things'' is a dystopian epistolary novel written by American author Paul Auster, first published in 1987. Plot summary The novel takes the form of a letter from a young woman named Anna Blume. Anna has ventured into an ...

'' 2006 and ''Der Gelbe Klang'' in 2014. The first opera he directed 1993 in Basel: ''Die Menschen'', followed by ''

Der Fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner cla ...

'' in Darmstadt and ''

Moses und Aron ''Moses und Aron'' (English: ''Moses and Aaron'') is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German-language, German libretto is by the composer after the Book of Exodus. Hungarian composer Zoltán Kocsis complet ...

'' in Bremen. At the Bonn opera he directed several contemporary operas between 1998 and 2002. He staged the world premiere of “L espace dernier” by Matthias Pintscher 2004 at the Paris Opera Bastille. His latest opera productions were ''Salome'' in Braunschweig and Freyschütz in Bern both 2013. Since his debut as drama director with Black Rider 1994 in Dortmund he has been invited to theaters like Schaubühne Berlin, Volksbühne Berlin, Burgtheater Wien, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Residenztheater München. Since 2005 he directed several plays by

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-vo ...

and

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

in Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Graz where ''Immer noch Sturm'' was opening in February 2014. The latest production was in 2015 with ''Das Schweigende Mädchen'' in Dortmund. Michael Simon has been teaching stage and lighting design 1998 to 2004 as Professor at HfG Karlsruhe and since 2008 at ZHdK Zurich.

Significant stagings

* 1994 – ''

The Black Rider ''The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. Wi ...

'' by Robert Wilson,

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

in Stadttheater Dortmund * 1995 – ''Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde'' depending on

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, Freie Volksbühne Berlin * 1995 – ''

'' by Richard Wagner in

Staatstheater Darmstadt The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its history began in ...

* 1995 – ''

'' by Arnold Schoenberg in Theater Bremen * 1996 – ''Tosca!'' depending on Sardou, Text Christoph Schuenke, Music Achim Kubinski in Burgtheater Wien * 1997 – ''

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 ...

'' by

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...

in Schaubühne Berlin * 2000 – '' Shockheaded Peter'' by P. McDermott, J. Crouch in

Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus The is a theatre building and company in Düsseldorf. The present building with two major auditoria was designed by the architect and built between 1965 and 1969. It opened in 1970. History The theatre dates back to 1747 when during the ...

* 2002 – '' Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights'' by

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

Maxim Gorki Theater The Maxim Gorki Theatre (german: Maxim Gorki Theater) is a theatre in Berlin-Mitte named after the Soviet writer, Maxim Gorky. In 2012, the Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit named Şermin Langhoff as the artist director of the theatre. History It ...

Berlin * 2003 – '' Stadt aus Glas'' by

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (born February 3, 1947) is an American writer and film director. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), '' The Book of Illusions'' (2002), ''The ...

* 2004 – '' Peer Gynt'' by Henrik Ibsen in

* 2004 – ''L’espace dernier'' by

Matthias Pintscher Matthias Pintscher (born 29 January 1971) is a German composer and conductor. As a youth, he studied the violin and conducting. Life and career Pintscher was born in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began his music studies with Giselher Klebe in ...

Opera National de Paris Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

* 2005 – '' Prinzessinnendramen'' by

, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe * 2006 – ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

in Staatsschauspiel Dresden * 2006 – ''Heil, Hitler!'' by

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama '' The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

in Nationaltheater Weimar (This performance was cancelled by the author, as the director intended to change the story of the piece against his will. * 2006 – ''

'' Ballett by Michael Simon in

Bayerisches Staatsballett The Bavarian State Ballet (german: Bayerisches Staatsballett) is a professional ballet company in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1988 by Konstanze Vernon as an independent company. The ballet had previously been part of the ''Bayerische Sta ...

* 2007 – Ulrike Maria Stuart by

in Stadttheater Freiburg * 2008 – ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' by Richard Wagner in Opernhaus Nürnberg * 2008 – ''Das Spiel vom Fragen'' by

, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe * 2009 – ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' by

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

, Joe Masteroff in

Schauspiel Frankfurt The Schauspiel Frankfurt is the municipal theatre company for plays in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is part of Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. History In the late 1770s the theatre principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established th ...

* 2010 – '' Richard III'' by

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

* 2011 – '' Orphée'' by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

* 2011 – ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'' by

, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe * 2012 – '' Rechnitz (Der Würgeengel)'' by

, Schauspielhaus Graz, Austrian debut performance * 2013 – '' Salome'' by Richard Strauss, Staatstheater Braunschweig * 2013 – '' Freyschütz'', by

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

, Theater Bern * 2015 – ''Das Schweigende Mädchen'' by

, Dortmund

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Michael 1958 births German scenic designers German production designers German theatre directors German opera directors Living people Academic staff of the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design