Günter Krämer (born December 2, 1940) is a German
stage director, especially for
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
, and a theatre manager who has staged internationally.
Career
Born in
Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to:
Places
* Neustadt (urban district)
Czech Republic
*Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují
*Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem
* Nové Město na Mo ...
, Krämer studied German language and literature and gained his first stage experience at the student theatre in
Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
. He first worked as a grammar school teacher and began his theatre career as
assistant director
The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
.
In 1972 he staged
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
's ''
A Touch of the Poet
''A Touch of the Poet'' is a Play (theatre), play by Eugene O'Neill completed in 1942 but not performed until 1958, after his death.
It and its sequel, ''More Stately Mansions'', were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled ''A Tale ...
'' in Cologne. From 1973 to 1975 he was director at the
Staatstheater Hannover. The productions here were ''
Uncle Vanya
''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...
'' (1973), ''
Miss Julie
''Miss Julie'' () is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of a count in Sweden. ...
'' (1974), Goldoni's ''
Le baruffe chiozzotte'' (1974), Gombrowicz' ''
Yvonne, princesse de Bourgogne'' (1974) and Büchner's ''
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 F ...
'' (1974).
From 1975 to 1979 he worked at the under
Hans Lietzau.
He staged '' Le baruffe chiozzotte'' several times in 1977,
Sławomir Mrożek's ''Emigranten'' (1975),
Canetti's ''Hochzeit'' (1976), Schiller's ''
Mary Stuart'' (1977),
Thomas Bernhard's ''A Feast for Boris'' (1977) and
Ödön von Horváth
Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901 – 1 June 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the ''nom de plume'' Ödön von Horváth (). He was one of the most critically admired writers of his g ...
's ' (1978).
In 1979 he became senior director at the
Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgart Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama ...
.
Here he directed the performances of Philip Magdalanys ''Section Nine'' (1979),
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
's ''
The Dance of Death'' (1980, with
Gisela Stein), the world premiere of
Tankred Dorst's (1980), Wedekind's ''
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
'' (1981), Schiller's ''
Mary Stuart'' (1982), Seneca's ''
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...
'' (1982), the world premiere of
Friederike Roth
Friederike Roth (born 6 April 1948) is a German writer. She is especially active as a playwright.
Roth was born in Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at ...
s ''Ritt auf die Wartburg'' (1982) and
Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
's ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...
'' (1982). At the
Münchner Kammerspiele he performed in
Hjalmar Söderberg
Hjalmar Emil Fredrik Söderberg (2 July 1869 – 14 October 1941) was a Swedish novelist, short story writer, playwright and journalist. His works often deal with melancholy and lovelorn characters, and offer a rich portrayal of contemporary Stoc ...
's ''Gertrud'' (1981).
During the 1984/1985 season, he moved to the
Theater Bremen
Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectato ...
, where he was director of acting until 1989.
His Bremen productions include the world premieres of
Friederike Roth
Friederike Roth (born 6 April 1948) is a German writer. She is especially active as a playwright.
Roth was born in Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at ...
's plays ''The Only Story'' (1985) and ''Das Ganze ein Stück'' (1986), ''
Goethe's Faust
''Faust'' ( , ) is a tragedy, tragic Play (theatre), 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 rh ...
'' (''
Faust, Part One'' 1985, ''
Faust II'' 1986),
''The Seagull'' (1987), ''
Richard III.'' (1987), Camus' ''
The Plague'' (1988) and
Ernst Barlach
Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in th ...
s ''The Poor Cousin'' (1988/89).
In 1987 he had success in the
Theater des Westens
The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and ded ...
with ''
Die Dreigroschenoper'',.
In the 1990/1991 season he replaced as artistic director of the
Schauspiel Köln.
In 1995, he became General Manager of the
Bühnen der Stadt Köln, where he stayed to 2002, responsible also for opera and ballet. In Cologne, he staged Goethe's ' (1990), Strindberg's ''The Dance of Death'' and Albee's ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...
'' (1992, with
Ingrid Andree),
Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...
's ''Anatomie Titus Fall of Rome''
''Anatomie Titus Fall of Rome''
on ''Libération
(), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'' (26 July 2001) (1993), Brecht's ''The Good Person of Szechwan
''The Good Person of Szechwan'' (, first translated less literally as ''The Good Man of Setzuan'') is a play written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berlau. The play was begun in 1938 but no ...
'' (1994), Goethe's ''Faust I'' (1997) and Ibsen's ''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.Meyer, Michael Lever ...
'' (1998).
Krämer's opera productions include Korngold's ''Die tote Stadt
(German for ''The Dead City''), Opus number, Op. 12, is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) set to a libretto by Paul Schott, a collective pseudonym for the composer and his father, Julius Korngold. It premiered in ...
'' (1986) and Schreker's ''Die Gezeichneten
' (''The Branded'' or ''The Stigmatized'') is an opera in three acts by Franz Schreker with a German-language libretto by the composer, based on Frank Wedekind's play ''Hidalla''.
Composition history
Schreker wrote the libretto in 1911 at the r ...
'' (1987, both at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Janáček's ''Káťa Kabanová
''Káťa Kabanová'' (also known in various spellings including ''Katia'', ''Katja'', ''Katya'', and ''Kabanowa'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by the composer based on ''The Storm (Ostrovsky), The Storm'' ...
'' (1986, Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the ...
), Weber's ''Der Freischütz
' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...
'' (1989, Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals.
The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...
), Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'' (1992/93, Hamburg), Verdi's '' La traviata'' (1993, Munich Opera Festival), Hindemith's '' Neues vom Tage'' (1996) and Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...
'' (1998), both at the Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company.
History of the company
From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...
.
In the 2009/10 season Krämer staged Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'' at the Paris Opéra Bastille
The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...
, the first production of the Cycle there. He directed Mozart's ''La Clemenza di Tito
(''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...
'' for the opening of the 2010 Schwetzingen Festival
The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany.
In 1952, the broadca ...
. In 2013 he staged the premiere of ''Joseph und seine Brüder'', a stage version of the novel by Thomas Mann, on 5 December 2013 at the Theater in der Josefstadt
The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''.
Following ...
.
He staged '' Die Liebe der Danae'' by Richard Strauss, ''Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original literary source for ' was ...
'' by Johann Strauss, Schoeck's ''Penthesilea
Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...
'' and Franz Schmidt's '' Notre Dame'' at the Semperoper
The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...
in Dresden.
References
External links
*
''Opéra National de Paris 2012-2013: Siegfried de Richard Wagner, 3 avril 2013 (Dir.mus : Philippe JORDAN; Mise en scène Günter KRÄMER''
on ''Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' (6 April 2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Gunter
1940 births
Living people
People from Neustadt an der Weinstraße
German theatre directors
German opera directors