The Munich Biennale () is a contemporary

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

music theatre Music theatre is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like opera and musical theatre. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approach ...

festival in the city of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

and is held in even-numbered years over 2–3 weeks in the late spring. The festival concentrates on world premieres of theater-related

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

, with a particular focus on commissioning first operas from young composers.

History

Hans Werner Henze's artistic directorship (1988–1996)

Henze, himself a prolific composer of operas, described the genesis of the festival like this: Henze curated the first four festivals, from 1988 to 1994, and established the general format of most of the festivals that followed. Short runs of the premiered operas are preceded by talks and additional concerts from the featured composers, to introduce the audiences to their ideas and music. See also Klangspuren.

Peter Ruzicka's artistic directorship (1996–2014)

Peter Ruzicka took over as artistic director ("one of the most influential administrative/ artistic positions in the European music-theatre scene") in 1996, with that year's biennale being jointly curated by Henze. Ruzicka broadened the scope of the works presented, with more emphasis on works using multimedia, and moving away from the text-based sources that characterised the period curated by Henze.

Manos Tsangaris and Daniel Ott's artistic directorship (2016–2024)

The composers Manos Tsangaris and Daniel Ott took over as joint artistic directors of the Biennale, starting in 2016. Their approach to curation further expanded the festival's remit beyond opera, to reflect an 'expanded composition term' and the 'open field' of new music theatre which spans ' om new opera to scenic installation, from minimalized artistic interventions in municipal spaces to composed performance'.

Katrin Beck and Manuela Kerer's artistic directorship (2026–)

Katrin Beck and Manuela Kerer took over as joint artistic directors of the Biennale, starting in 2026.

Operas given at the Munich Biennale

World premieres are marked as WP

Significance

The Munich Biennale has provided first or early commissions for stage works from many composers now established as opera composers, such as

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage (born 10 June 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Life and career Mark-Anthony Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex on 10 June 1960. Turnage was the eldest of three children. His parents were lov ...

Detlev Glanert Detlev Glanert (born 6 September 1960) is a Opera in German, German opera composer, who has also composed numerous works for chamber and full orchestra, including three symphonies. Biography Detlev Glanert was born in Hamburg in 1960. He came ...

, Gerd Kühr,

Hans-Jürgen von Bose Hans-Jürgen von Bose (born 24 December 1953) is a German composer. Life After an unsettled adolescence, Bose entered the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt in 1969, where he received instruction in piano and music theory. Upon graduating from the ...

, Param Vir,

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

and Violeta Dinescu. The strongly international scope of the festival has meant that it has been able to offer opportunities missing at a national level.Salzman, Desi; p. 222: ".. with one or two notable exceptions, the lively London theatre and music scene has not developed a strong creative music-theatre component. The result is that the Munich Biennale and the film industry have sometimes been better patrons for new British opera and music theatre than local musical institutions".

References

Notes Sources
münchener biennale
Festival website Retrieved 13 March 2012 *

External links

*Peter & Alexa Woolf

musicweb-international.com 2000 *John Warnaby

musicweb-international.com 20 May 2006

Münchener Merkur 23 April 2010
Münchener Biennale / Urwald-Symphonie und surrealer Seelentrip

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

14 May 2010 *Gerhard Rohde
Münchener Biennale / Wozu der ganze Aufwand?
FAZ 12 May 2010 {{Authority control Opera festivals in Germany Contemporary classical music festivals Music festivals in Germany

Biennale In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally internationa ...