Alfred Kirchner

Alfred Kirchner (born 22 May 1937) is a German actor, theatre director (especially for opera) and theatre manager who is based in Berlin. He worked at theatres such as Theater Bremen, Schauspielhaus Bochum, the Burgtheater in Vienna and the Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin, before turning to freelance work. He has staged productions in Europe and North America, including several world premieres of both drama and opera. He directed the premiere of Martin Walser's Ein Kinderspiel in Stuttgart in 1971, the U.S. premiere of Henze's We Come to the River at the Santa Fe Opera in 1984, and the premiere of Hans Zender's Stephen Climax at the Oper Frankfurt in 1986. In 1994, he staged Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival.

Alfred Kirchner
Born (1937-05-22) 22 May 1937
Göppingen, Germany
EducationMax-Reinhardt-Schule für Schauspiel
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Stage director
  • Opera director
  • Theatre manager
  • Academic teacher
Organization

Life

Kirchner was born in Göppingen, the son of a Schriftleiter.[1] He was trained as an actor at the Max-Reinhardt-Schule für Schauspiel in Berlin.[2] He first worked as an actor and assistant stage director (Regieassistent) at the Theater Kiel. At the Theater Bremen from 1964 to 1971, he first assisted Peter Zadek and Peter Palitzsch.[1][3] Kirchner is married; the couple have two daughters and live in Berlin and Stuttgart.

Career

Kirchner's first theatre staging was Hall/Waterhouse's Lügen-Billy in Bremen in 1965.[1] He worked at the Schauspielhaus Bochum with Hans Schalla. From 1972 to 1979, he led the drama section of the Staatstheater Stuttgart as Oberspielleiter. From 1974, he was a member of the board of directors there, together with Claus Peymann. He staged as a guest at international theatres, opera houses and festivals, including New York City, the Wiener Festwochen, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam and the Mülheimer Theatertage. In 1979, he and other members of the Stuttgart theatre moved with Peymann to Bochum. When Peymann moved again to the Burgtheater in Vienna in 1986, Kirchner followed.[4] From 1989/90, he tried with Vera Sturm, Alexander Lang and Volkmar Clauß (called theViererbande) to rescue the Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin, which closed in 1993.[3]

Kirchner then worked as a freelance opera director, including the Oper Frankfurt, Leipzig Opera, Vienna State Opera and Hamburg State Opera. He participated at Berliner Theatertreffen several times. He also staged operas internationally, in Zürich, Barcelona, Oslo, Moscow, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Toulouse, Oviedo, Dallas, Santiago de Chile and often at the Santa Fe Opera, including the U.S. premieres of Henze's We Come to the River and Venus and Adonis.[2] In 1994, he staged Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival.[5]

Kirchner collaborated with conductors such as Michael Gielen, Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, James Levine, Gerd Albrecht, Paolo Carignani, Graeme Jenkins, Dennis Russell Davies and Bertrand de Billy. Besides classical repertoire in drama and opera, he focused on contemporary works. He staged world premieres of playwrights such as Martin Walser, Peter Turrini, Heiner Müller, Herbert Achternbusch, Dario Fo, Maxim Gorki and Gerlind Reinshagen and composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Hans Zender and Udo Zimmermann.[2][6]

Kirchner taught at the University of Georgia, the Musikhochschule Hamburg, Hamburg University, and the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler".[2]

Productions

Publications

Alfred Kirchner: Der Mann von Pölarölara. Autobiografische Splitter. Vienna: Hollitzer 2019 ISBN 978-3-99012-627-1.

References
  1. "Alfred Kirchner" (in German). Munzinger. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. "Alfred Kirchner, Director". Oper Frankfurt. 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. Heine, Matthias (22 May 2007). "Glückwunsch / Alfred Kirchner 70". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. Haas, Margit (22 May 2017). "Geburtstag Der Weltbürger aus Göppingen: Berühmter Regisseur wird 80". Süd-West-Presse (in German). Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  5. "Alfred Kirchner" (in German). Bayreuth Festival. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. "Alfred Kirchner" (in German). Theater der Zeit. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. Martin Walser / Ein Kinderspiel Suhrkamp
  8. Benjamin Henrichs: Arbeit am Spaß Die Zeit, 25 March 1975
  9. Mikis Theodorakis (Komponist) / Walser, Martin (Autor) / Das Sauspiel theatertexte.de]
  10. Der Entaklemmer. Luststück in fünf Aufzügen, das ist auf schwäbisch L'Avare oder Der Geizige. / Troll, Thaddäus: abebooks.de
  11. Traumausflug / Gerlind Reinshagen: "Rovinato" Die Zeit, 26 February 1982, 978-0-52-159774-6
  12. Die Heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe archiv.mimecentrum.de
  13. Peter Thomson, Viv Gardner: Brecht: Mother Courage and Her Children Cambridge University Press, 11 December 1997
  14. Wolokolamsker Chaussee (I – V) henschel-schauspiel.de
  15. Holland, Bernard (3 August 1984). "Opera: Henze's "RIVER" Performed in Santa Fe". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. Heinz Josef Herbort: Musiktheater: "Stephen Climax" von Hans Zender in Frankfurt: Dichter, Huren, Mönche (in German) Die Zeit, 4 July 1986
  17. Herbert Achternbusch / An der Donau Suhrkamp
  18. Die Minderleister / von Peter Turrini muelheim-ruhr.de
  19. Neues Deutschland über Kirchners Faust
  20. Alfred Kirchner Oper Leipzig
  21. Kirchner enttäuscht in Barcelona, keine Vision (Wagneropera.net)
  22. Francis Carlin: Intentions noble as the wine Financial Times, 19 July 2006
  23. Lohengrin wagnerdisco.net
  24. Mozart, Don Giovanni musicweb-international.com, 22 November 2009
  25. 'Don Giovanni' en el Teatro Campoamor de Oviedo codalario.com
  26. mica-Interview Interview mit Alfred Kirchner musicaustria.at, 10 October 2008
  27. Sir John mit dem hilfreichen Häschen: Otto Nicolais „Lustige Weiber von Windsor“ an der Volksoper Wien Neue Musikzeitung, 23 December 2010
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