Tilmann Köhler

Tilmann Köhler (born 1979) is a German theatre stage director who has worked with the ensembles of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar and the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. His broad repertoire includes classical plays and world premiered. Several of his productions have been invited to international festivals. Köhler turned to also staging operas in 2013, beginning with Handel's ''Teseo'' at the Oper Frankfurt, where he returned to direct Martin's '' Le Vin herbé'', Mozart's ''Le nozze di Figaro'' and Zemlinsky's ''Der Traumgörge''.

Life and career

Köhler was born in Weimar. He was a theatre actor and director at the ''Theaterfabrik'' of the . He then studied theatre directing from 2001 to 2005 at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Drama

Köhler worked from 2005 as stage director for the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. He then moved to the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, where he also led the studio. His production of Ferdinand Bruckner's ' was invited to the 2007 Berliner Theatertreffen. He staged Goethe's ''Faust I'' in Weimar in 2008, 200 years after the first performance. His staging of Brecht's '' Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe'' was awarded the in 2009.Kurt-Hübner-Preis an Tilmann Köhler: Das hohe Maß an Dringlichkeit
nachtkritik.de 10. Februar 2010, retrieved 30 March 2019. He also worked for the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, Schauspiel Stuttgart, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Theater Basel and the Oper Frankfurt. Internationally, he directed in São Paulo, Taipeh, at the Moskauer Künstlertheater, in Gwangju in Korea and at the National Theatre Bratislava.

Opera

In 2013 Köhler directed opera for the first time, Handel's ''Teseo'' at the Oper Frankfurt, invited by Bernd Loebe who had seen his work. ''Teseo'' was played at the Bockenheimer Depot, the company's smaller venue. He returned to direct two more Handel operas at the same place, '' Radamisto'' in 2016 and '' Xerxes'' in 2017. He was invited to direct Zemlinsky's ''Der Traumgörge'' in 2020 but it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His next project there was Martin's '' Le Vin herbé'', now for the opera house and adjusting to social distancing. It was prepared including the dress rehearsal but the performances were cancelled due to another lockdown. It was finally played in 2022.

Köhler was invited to direct the opening of the 2023/24 season, Mozart's ''Le nozze di Figaro'' in the first performance with the new music director Thomas Guggeis. A reviewer from the FAZ noted that Köhler staged playful "serious games" ("''ernste Spiele''"), in which the women win by "wit, cleverness and presence of mind". ''Der Traumgörge'' was finally presented in 2024, conducted by Markus Poschner, with AJ Glueckert in the title role, Zuzana Marková as Gertraud, Magdalena Hinterdobler as Grete and Liviu Holender as Hans. He staged Görge as an outsider in a village, as a bookworm, dreamer and intellectual, and identified the princess of his dreams with the outcast Gertraud.

Works

Productions directed by Köhler include:

* ' by Evgeny Schwartz, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar 2006
* ''Krankheit der Jugend'' by Ferdinand Bruckner, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar 2006. Invitation to the 2007 Berliner Theatertreffen
* ''Amoklauf mein Kinderspiel'' by , world premiere, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar 2006. Invitation to Festival Premières Strasbourg and to Deutsches Kinder- und Jugendtheatertreffen "Augenblick Mal! 2007"
* ''Othello'' by William Shakespeare, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar 2006. Invitation to Radikal jung 2007
* ''Separatisten'' by Thomas Freyer, world premiere, Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin 2007
* ''Faust I'' by Goethe, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar 2008
* ''Hamlet'' by Shakespeare, Maxim Gorki Theater 2008
* '' Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe'' by Bertolt Brecht, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2009.
* ''Der geteilte Himmel'' after the novel by Christa Wolf'' by Handel, Oper Frankfurt 2013
* ''King Arthur'' by Purcell and John Dryden, Staatsschauspiel Dresden / Semperoper Dresden 2013
* ''Jugend ohne Gott'' after the novel by Ödön von Horvath, Deutsches Theater Berlin 2013
* ''Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui'' by Brecht, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2014
* '' Mario und der Zauberer'' by Mann, Schauspiel Stuttgart 2014
* ''Drei Schwestern'' by Anton Chekhov, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2014
* ''Mein deutsches deutsches Land'' by Thomas Freyer, world premiere, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2014. Invitation to the Autorentheatertage Berlin 2015
* ''Macbeth'' by Shakespeare, Deutsches Theater 2015
* '' Maß für Maß'' by Shakespeare, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2015
* ''Die Jungfrau von Orleans'' by Schiller, Schauspielhaus Hamburg 2015
* '' Radamisto'' by Handel, Oper Frankfurt 2016
* '' Xerxes'' by Handel, Oper Frankfurt 2017
* ''Bianca e Falliero'' by Rossini, Oper Frankfurt / Tiroler Festspiele Erl 2022
* ''Undine'' by Albert Lortzing, Oper Leipzig 2022
* '' Das Leben ist Traum'' by Calderón de la Barca, Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2023
* '' Le Vin herbé'' by Frank Martin, Oper Frankfurt, 2023
* ''Le nozze di Figaro'' by Mozart, Oper Frankfurt 2023
* ''Der Traumgörge'' by Zemlinsky, Oper Frankfurt 2024

References

External links

Tilmann Köhler
Staatsschauspiel Dresden

Tilmann Köhler
Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus

Tilmann Köhler
Oper Frankfurt


Goethe-Institut
* Tilmann Köhler
Zu ''Heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe''

''"Montagswirklichkeit in Dresden"''
(interview with Miriam Tscholl and Tilmann Köhler

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohler, Tilmann
German theatre directors
German opera directors
1979 births
Living people