Erich-Alexander Winds (15 September 1900 – 9 September 1972) was a German

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and actor.

Life

Born in Dredsden as son of a director and an actress, Winds started his career in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

at the age of 18 with the knowledge he had acquired at home. Via several stations he came to

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, where in 1945 he again took up the post of

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the

Wuppertaler Bühnen Wuppertaler Bühnen is the municipal theatre company in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It serves opera and plays. The opera house Opernhaus Wuppertal has served from 1956 as a venue for opera and performances of the separate dance ...

, which he had only resigned from in 1944. From there, he was engaged at the as drama director from 1 June 1953. In 1955, he went to the

Staatsoper Unter den Linden The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Pr ...

, where he was chief director until 1969. In 1966, he was appointed as a lecturer at the

Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts The Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (German: ''Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch'', ''HFS''), located in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, was founded in 1951 as the National Theatre School in Berlin with the status of colleg ...

. He took part in several television films and

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...

films as a director as well as an actor. He also directed

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s. Winds was married in second marriage to the actress . Winds died in BerlinPrivate Traueranzeige in the ''

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

'', 16 September 1972, at the age of 71.Erich-Alexander Winds
on AllMusic

Theatre

* 1946: Massenet: ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'' – direction(

) * 1953: Schiller: '' Die Jungfrau von Orleans'' – direction (Schauspiel Leipzig) * 1954: Sartre: ''

The Respectful Prostitute ''The Respectful Prostitute'' () is a French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, written in 1946, which observes a white woman, a prostitute, caught up in a racially tense period of American history. The audience understands that there has been an inciden ...

'' – direction (Städtisches Theater Leipzig – Kammerspiele) * 1954:

Hedda Zinner Hedda Zinner, or Hedda Erpenbeck-Zinner (20 May 1904 – 1 July 1994), was a German political writer, actress, comedian, journalist and radio director. Biography Hedda Zinner was born in Lviv (then known as Lemberg) on 20 May 1904. She atten ...

: ''Der Teufelskreis'' – direction (Schauspiel Leipzig) * 1955: Hebbel: ''

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

'' – direction (Leipziger Schauspielhaus) * 1955: Beethoven: ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'' – direction (

) * 1955: Tchaikovsky: ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1955: Richard Wagner: ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1956: Giuseppe Verdi: ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' – directione (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1956:

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

: ''Die Häuser des Herrn Sartorius'' – direction ( Maxim-Gorki-Theater Berlin) * 1957: Borodin: ''

Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' (, ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the early Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which recounts the campaign of the 12th-centur ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1958: Eugen Suchoň: ''Krútňava'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1958: Prokofief: ''

Betrothal in a Monastery ''Betrothal in a Monastery'' (Russian title ''Обручение в монастыре'') is an opera in nine scenes (four acts) by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson after Sheridan's '' The Duenna''. Prok ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1958: : ''Kaution'' – direction (Maxim-Gorki-Theater Berlin) * 1958: Bartók: ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' (, literally ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act Symbolism (movement), Symbolist opera by composer Béla Bartók to a Hungarian libretto by his friend and poet Béla Balázs. Based on the French folk legen ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1959: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1959:

Jean Kurt Forest Jean Kurt Forest (2 April 19093 March 1975) was a German violinist and violist, Kapellmeister and composer. He began his career as concertmaster in film orchestras conducted by Paul Dessau, then played principal viola in Frankfurt and Hamburg. D ...

: ''Der arme Konrad'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) UA * 1960:

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

: ''Fuhrmann Henschel'' – direction ( Volksbühne Berlin) * 1960: Strauss: ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1960: Verdi: ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1961: Kurt Schwaen: ''Leonce und Lena'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin – Apollosaal) * 1961: Egk: ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1962: Wagner: ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1962: Wagner: ''

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1962: Tchaikovsky: ''Eugene Onegin'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1962: Verdi: '' Un ballo in maschera'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1963: Donizetti: ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1963: Humperdinck: ''

Hänsel und Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1964: Verdi: ''

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1964: Prokofief: ''

The Story of a Real Man ''The Story of a Real Man'' () is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, his opus 117. It was written from 1947 to 1948, and was his last opera. The libretto, by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson, is based on t ...

'' – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1964: Strauss: ''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...

'' (Haushofmeister) – director

Erhard Fischer Martin Erhard Fischer (10 November 1922 – 20 December 1996) was a German music and theater director. Career Born in Radeberg, Fischer studied with in Dresden. His directing debut took place in Radebeul with Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem ...

(Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1965: Nestroy: '' Einen Jux will er sich machen'' – direction (Leipziger Schauspielhaus) * 1965: Mozart: ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' (Italienische Fassung) – direction (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin) * 1968: Henze: ''Der junge Lord'' (Sir Edgar) – direction:

Joachim Herz Joachim Herz (15 June 1924 – 18 October 2010) was a German opera director and manager. He learned at the Komische Oper Berlin as an assistant to Walter Felsenstein. His major stations were the Leipzig Opera where he opened the new house with Wa ...

(

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 ...

)

Filmography

* 1955: '' Wer seine Frau lieb hat''

Radio plays

* 1957: Sartre: ''

Nekrassov ''Nekrassov, or the Farce in Eight Scenes'' is a satirical drama written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1955. Plot Nekrassov takes place in the 1950s Paris. It shows the life of the unfortunate journalist Sibilot who works at the right-wing newspaper o ...

'' (Polizeiinspektor) – (

Rundfunk der DDR Rundfunk der DDR (, 'GDR Broadcasting'; from about 1948 to 1972 Deutscher Demokratischer Rundfunk, 'German Democratic Broadcasting') was the collective designation for radio broadcasting organized by the State Broadcasting Committee in the East ...

) * 1958: /Karl Wagert: ''Der Fall van der Lubbe'' – (Rundfunk der DDR) * 1958:

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

: ''Stützen der Gesellschaft'' (Kaufmann Wiegeland) – (Hörspiel – Rundfunk der DDR) * 1958:

Pavel Kohout Pavel Kohout (born 20 July 1928) is a Czech and Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a Prague Spring participant and dissident in the 1970s until he was not allowed to return from A ...

: ''So eine Liebe'' – (Hörspiel – Rundfunk der DDR)

Awards and honours

* 1961: Title:

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

* 1965:

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

of the GDR in silver * 1969: Honorary member of the

References

External links

* *
Erich-Alexander Winds
on Filmportal
Erich-Alexander Winds
at DEFA Sternstunden.de
Erich-Alexander-Winds-Archiv
in the archive of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winds, ErichAlexander German theatre directors German film directors German film actors German male stage actors Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver 1900 births 1972 deaths People from Dresden