Martin Kušej (born 14 May 1962) is an Austrian theatre and opera director, and is director of the Burgtheater

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. According to German news magazine

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

, Kušej belongs to the ten most important theatre directors who have emerged in the German-speaking world since the millennium. He is considered one of the most important directors working today, acclaimed for his dark and incisive productions. Born into the Slovene-speaking minority in the Austrian state of Carinthia he studied German, Literature and Sport Sciences at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

from 1979–82. He then moved to the local University of Music and Performing Arts and graduated from the MA course in theatre directing in 1984. His final showcase production was ''Ultramarine'' by David Brett; his Master thesis was on Robert Wilson. In 1986, after his alternative civil service, he became an assistant director at the State Theatre in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

from where he moved to the Slovenian National Theatre in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

in the same role. Since 1990, he has been working freelance in Slovenia, Austria, Italy and Germany. Together with Austrian set designer Martin Zehetgruber and dramaturge Sylvia Brandl, he founded the independent group ’’my friend martin’’. They produced various plays for international festivals, including ''Franz Falsch F Falsch Dein Falsch Nichts Mehr Stille Tiefer Wald'' based on works by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

. In the 1993/1994 season he became a resident director at the Staatstheater in Stuttgart, Germany. He received the Gertrud Eysoldt Prize for young directors for his version of ''

Intrigue and Love ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, ...

'' by Friedrich Schiller which he had directed earlier that year at Stadttheater

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

in Austria, and which had produced a major scandal with audiences leaving the theatre within the first few minutes. In 1996 he debuted as an opera director in Stuttgart with '' King Arthur'' by Henry Purcell and

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

. Since then he has directed operas in the opera houses of Stuttgart, Verona, Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam and at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

. Towards the end of his time as resident director in Stuttgart he also worked at the Burgtheater in Vienna and at Thalia Theater in Hamburg. In 1999, he was invited to the

Berliner Theatertreffen The Berliner Theatertreffen (''Theatertreffen'' : neologism literally meaning "theatre encounter" or "theatre meeting" ) is a two-week long theatre festival occurring yearly in May in Berlin, Germany. It is a product of the Berliner Festspiele ...

festival with his Hamburg production of ''

Tales from the Vienna Woods "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II. Composed in 1868, , Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Strauss II which featured a vi ...

'' by

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...

. Since the 2000/2001 season, he has been working as a freelance director, again at the Burgtheater and at Hamburg’s Thalia Theatre, amongst others. From 2004–06, he was the artistic director of the drama section at the Salzburg Festival, then moved on to work as a freelance opera and theatre director again in the 2006/2007 season. From 2011 to 2019, he was the artistic director of the

Residenz Theatre The Residence Theatre (in German: Residenztheater) or New Residence Theatre (Neues Residenztheater) of the Residence in Munich was built from 1950 to 1951 by Karl Hocheder. The renovation of 1981 by Alexander von Branca removed the decoration w ...

("Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel"). Since September 2019, Kušej is director of the Burgtheater

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Selected stage productions

Theatre

* 1988: ''Play'' – K-Werk, Graz * 1988: ''The Sinking of the Titanic'' – Schauspielhaus, Graz * 1990: ''Faith, Hope and Charity'' – Mladinsko Theatre, Ljubljana * 1991: ''Scandal after Cankar'' – Mladinsko Theatre, Ljubljana * 1992: ''The Dream as a Life'' – Schauspielhaus, Graz * 1993: ''

'' – Stadttheater, Klagenfurt and Staatstheater Stuttgart * 1993: ''Herzog Theodor von Gotland'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 1994: '' The Prince of Homburg'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 1995: ''Die Unbekannte aus der Seine'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 1995: '' Clavigo'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 1996: '' Richard III'' –

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vol ...

am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin * 1997: '' Oedipus Rex'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 1998: ''

'' – Thalia Theater, Hamburg * 1999: ''

Cleansed ''Cleansed'' is the third play by the English playwright Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1998 at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs in London. The play is set in a university which (according to the blurb of the published script) is op ...

'' – Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 2000: ''

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 ...

'' –

and Staatstheater, Stuttgart * 2000: ''

The Ghost Sonata ''The Ghost Sonata'' ( sv, Spöksonaten, links=no) is a play in three acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908. Since then, it has be ...

'' – Thalia Theater, Hamburg and Stadttheater, Klagenfurt * 2001: ''Belief and Home'' – Burgtheater, Vienna * 2001: '' Edward II (play)'' – Thalia Theater, Hamburg * 2002: ''Faith, Hope and Charity'' – Burgtheater, Vienna * 2004: ''

A Flea in Her Ear ''A Flea in Her Ear'' (french: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's play ...

'' – Thalia Theater, Hamburg and Stadttheater, Klagenfurt * 2005: ''

König Ottokars Glück und Ende ''König Ottokars Glück und Ende'' is a tragedy in five acts written by Franz Grillparzer in 1823. Based on the historical events surrounding the life of Ottokar II of Bohemia, the play deals with the fall of the king from the height of his powers ...

'' – Burgtheater, Vienna * 2006: ''The Belle Vue'' – Thalia Theater, Hamburg and Stadttheater,

* 2007: ''

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 ...

'' –

, Munich * 2009: ''The She-Devil'' – Burgtheater, Vienna * 2011: ''The Vast Domain'' –

, Munich * 2012: ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' –

, Munich * 2012: '' The Anarchist'' –

, Munich * 2012: ''

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant ''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' (german: Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) is a 1972 West German romantic drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. Featuring an all-female cast, the plot tak ...

'' –

, Munich (German theatre prize ''

Der Faust ''Der Faust'', officially ''Deutscher Theaterpreis Der Faust'', is a German theatre prize, a national prize from 2006. It is awarded annually by the organizations Deutscher Bühnenverein, , Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste and the stat ...

'' for Best Direction of a stage play) * 2013: ''In Agony'' –

, Munich and Vienna * 2014: ''

Goethe's Faust ''Faust'' is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as '' Faust, Part One'' and ''Faust, Part Two''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely s ...

'' –

, Munich * 2015:

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".ICH ICH ICH'' –

, Munich * 2016: ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

– Burgtheater, Vienna * 2017: '' Phädra’s Night'', a project by Albert Ostermaier and Martin Kušej –

, Munich * 2018: ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' by Michael Frayn –

, Munich

Opera

* 1998: ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'' –

Staatsoper Stuttgart The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra. History Performances of operas, ballet an ...

* 1999: '' Salome'' – Graz Opera House * 2001: '' Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali'' –

* 2002: '' Don Giovanni'' –

* 2004: '' Carmen'' – Staatsoper, Berlin * 2007: ''

The 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 in ...

'' – Zurich Opera * 2010: ''

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

'' – Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam * 2012: '' Macbeth'' – Bavarian Staatsoper, Munich * 2013: '' La forza del destino'' – Bavarian Staatsoper, Munich

References

Austrian theatre directors Austrian opera directors 1961 births Living people University of Graz alumni

External links

* {{official, https://www.martinkusej.de/