Oscar Fritz Schuh (15 January 1904 – 22 October 1984) was a German-Austrian

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 ...

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 ...

and opera manager. He is known for directing Mozart operas at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

and 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 ...

in productions that toured internationally. They focused on the psychology of the characters.

Life and career

Schuh was born in Munich, the son of a veterinarian. He attended the , achieving the Abitur in 1921. During his schooling, he already had a contract as a theatre critic for the Berlin magazine ''Der Fechter'', and also wrote essays about theatre history and reviews for other papers. He studied

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and philosophy at

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. In 1923, he was engaged at the Bayerische Landesbühne in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

. His first theatre direction there was Hauptmann's '' Hanneles Himmelfahrt''. He moved on to Oldenburg,

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

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 ...

, (with Walter Bruno Iltz), and Prague. In 1931, he was called by Albert Ruch to work as director and dramaturge at the Hamburg State Opera. He there met the stage designer

Caspar Neher Caspar Neher (born Rudolf Ludwig Caspar Neher; 11 April 1897 – 30 June 1962) was an Austrian-German scenographer and librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht. Neher was born in Augsburg. He a ...

who became his professional partner. When Ruch succeeded Karl-Heinz Strohm at the

, Schuh and Neher went along. They developed the so-called ''Wiener Mozart-Stil'' (Vienna Mozart Style) together with the conductors

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

and

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

, with a focus on the psychology of the characters. Schuh's production, with Böhm, of '' Così fan tutte'' set a standard for later versions of the opera. The successfully toured to Florence, Nice, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and London. Schuh also worked at the Vienna Burgtheater. In 1953, he became director of in Berlin, turning more to drama. He also directed for audio plays, including a 1956 production by RIAS of Goldoni's '' Mirandolina''. In 1958, he moved to be Generalintendant (general manager) of the Städtische Bühnen Köln, and finally, in 1963, succeeded

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

as general manager of the

Deutsches Schauspielhaus The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1901 by the renowned stage actress Franziska Ellmenreich. Theatre managers Notable actors Marco Albrecht, Ingrid ...

in Hamburg, holding the position until 1968.Ralph-Günther Patocka
Schuh, Oscar Fritz
(in German) Deutsche Biographie He then worked freelance. In the 1970s, he founded the Salzburger Straßentheater, which he directed, together with his wife, the stage designer and painter , until his death. Schuh died in

Großgmain Großgmain is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Geography Großgmain lies in the Salzburg '' Flachgau'' region in the northern foothills of the Untersberg massif, directly on the border with ...

at age 80 and is buried at the .

Awards

Among other awards, Schuh received the Deutscher Kritikerpreis in 1956, and the Salzburg Mozart Medal in 1966.

Publications

* Oscar Fritz Schuh: ''So war es – war es so? Notizen und Erinnerungen eines Theatermannes''.

References

Cited sources

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External links

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Oscar Fritz Schuh
geschichtewiki.wien.gv {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuh, Oscar Fritz 1904 births 1984 deaths Theatre people from Munich Dramaturges German opera directors German theatre directors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany