Helmut Bez (28 August 1930 – 7 August 2019) was a German writer primarily known as a playwright (for theatre, radio, and television), librettist, and screenwriter. He was born in
Sondershausen
Sondershausen () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km (30 mi) north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was merged with Sondershausen.
Until 1918 i ...
and spent the first 40 years of his career in
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
. In 1981, Hans Fabian wrote that his plays at the
Deutsches Theater "rival the best of those performed in the West and give promise of a vigorous decade to come."
Life and career
Bez graduated from secondary school and later drama school in
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
where he had been a boyhood friend of
Jürgen Degenhardt
Hans-Jürgen Degenhardt (21 October 1930 in Dresden – 1 August 2014) was a German songwriter, actor, director and author. He was considered a successful German writer of musical comedies.
On 1 August 2014 he died of cancer in Erfurt.
Filmogra ...
. He and Degenhardt would later collaborate on numerous librettos for musical theatre and
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
. When collaborating, Bez and Degenhardt sometimes wrote under the pseudonyms Alfred Berg (Bez) and Hans Hardt (Degenhardt). Between 1952 and 1966, Bez worked as the resident dramatist at theatres in Heiligenstadt, Nordhausen, Erfurt, and Eisleben and at the
Metropol-Theater in Berlin. Since 1966 he has worked as a freelance dramatist.
In 1980 Bez, Degenhardt, and H. P. Hofmann published, ''Musical: Geschichte und Werke'', a book on the history and performance of musical theatre in Germany. To mark Bez's 75th birthday in August 2005,
MDR MDR may refer to:
Biology
* MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance
* Mammalian diving reflex
* Medical device reporting
* Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...
re-broadcast his 1996 radio play ''Tod in der Provinz''.
Works
Musical theatre
Bez's librettos for musical theatre and operetta include:
*''Mein Freund Bunbury'' (1964) with Jürgen Degenhardt. Composer:
Gerd Natschinski
Gerd Natschinski (23 August 1928 – 4 August 2015) was a German composer. He worked on the scores for more than forty film and television series during his career. He was employed the East German state-controlled studio DEFA.
Natschinski died on ...
. Based on Oscar Wilde's play ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...
'', this musical is still being performed in Germany in the 21st century.
* ''Terzett'' (1974) with Jürgen Degenhardt. Composer: Gerd Natschinski
* ''Casanova'' (1976) with Jürgen Degenhardt. Composer: Gerd Natschinski
Stage plays
* ''Jutta oder Die Kinder von Damutz'' (1978)
* ''Warmer Regen'' (1979)
* ''Die verkehrte Welt'' (1983)
and others.
Radio plays
* ''Zwiesprache halten'' (1976, awarded)
* ''Letzte Nachrichten'' (1981)
* ''Die Befreiung'' (1983)
* ''Das Reich von Geist und Seele'' (1989)
* ''Gentz'' (1990)
* ''Nützliche Erhebung'' (1993)
* ''Die Armee Wenck'' (1995)
* ''Tod in der Provinz'' (1997)
Television plays and movies
* ''Wengler & Söhne'' (1987, DEFA)
* ''Späte Ankunft'' (1988, TV)
* ''Jutta oder Die Kinder von Damutz'' (1995, TV)
Novels
Numerous novels and stories.
References
External links
*
*
Author's page with biography and list of works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bez, Helmut
1930 births
People from Sondershausen
German librettists
German radio writers
2019 deaths