Jürgen Flimm

Jürgen Flimm (born 17 July 1941, in Gießen) is a German theater and opera director, and theater manager. After establishing himself as one of the exponents of Regietheater, Flimm was called to manage renowned theaters and festivals. His operatic productions in Germany led to an international career, with operas staged in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, England, Italy, and the United States.

Life and career

Flimm studied the theory of drama, literature and sociology at the University of Cologne and started his career with his first position as assistant director at the Munich Kammerspiele in 1968. He had positions as director at the National Theatre Mannheim and as a senior director at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg (1973/74), then he worked as freelance director and director at the Schauspiel Cologne.

In 1985, he once more joined the Thalia Theatre, where he worked as leading director for the next fifteen years and which became, under his executive, one of the artistically and economically most successful voice theatres in Germany. Among his most important productions in Hamburg are plays by Anton Chekhov (''Platonov'', 1989; ''Uncle Vanya'', 1995; '' Three Sisters'', 1999), Henrik Ibsen ('' Peer Gynt'', 1985; ''The Wild Duck'', 1994), Arthur Schnitzler (''Liebelei'', 1988; ''Das weite Land'', 1995) and William Shakespeare (''Hamlet'', 1986; ''King Lear'', 1992; '' As You Like It'', 1998).

With the 1978 production of Luigi Nono’s ''Al gran sole carico d’amore'' in Frankfurt, FlimI like mentrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who became his most important artistic partner. During the last years, Flimm has produced works by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Verdi, Gounod, Stravinsky, Franz Schreker and others at La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Berlin State Opera, the Zurich Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the Hamburg State Opera. In summer 2000, he staged a new version of Wagner's ''Ring'' for the Bayreuth Festival, and in June 2002, he was responsible for the scenic realisation of the world premiere of ''Der Riese vom Steinfeld'' by Friedrich Cerha at the Vienna State Opera.

Flimm was professor at the University of Hamburg and is a member of the Academies of Arts in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt. He received the title of an honorary doctor of the University of Hildesheim. Amongst his prizes and awards are, amongst others: the Medal for Art and Science of the Free and Hanse Town Hamburg, the Konrad-Wolf-Prize of the Academy of Arts in Berlin, the '' Bundesverdienstkreuz'' (Order of the FRG) and the ''Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Kunst und Wissenschaft'' (Austrian Cross of Honour for Arts and Sciences).

Between 1999 and 2003, Flimm was the president of the ''Deutsche Bühnenverein'' (German Stage Association), 2002 until 2004 director for drama at the Salzburg Festival. From 2005 until 2007, Flimm was the director of the RuhrTriennale, following founding director Gerard Mortier. Artistic director of the Salzburg Festival from 2007 until 2010, he was Intendant of the Berlin State Opera from 2010 until 31 March 2018.

Selected filmography

* ''Uns reicht das nicht'' (1979, TV film)
* ''Through Roses'' (1997)
* ''Käthchens Traum'' (2004, TV film)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flimm, Jurgen
1941 births
Living people
Mass media people from Hesse
General directors of the Berlin State Opera
German opera directors
University of Cologne alumni
Academic staff of the University of Hamburg
German male television actors
German male film actors
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin
Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia
Salzburg Festival directors
People from Giessen