Hermann Wedekind (18 November 1910, in

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

– 16 January 1998, in Wadern) was an artistic director at

Festspiele Balver Höhle Festspiele Balver Höhle is an arts festival, featuring musical and theatrical performances, in Balve, Germany. The festival is centered on the cave of Balve ('' Balver Höhle'' in German). The association was founded in 1985 in Volkringhausen ...

from 1983 to 1996.

Vita

After his first engagements in Hagen and Bielefeld, Wedekind was brought to the Deutsches Theater in Berlin by the artistic director Heinz Hilpert in 1935 (1935–1943) and began a career in the field of youthful hero tenors at the Danzig Opera and then at the

Dresden State Opera The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the T ...

. After the war, he became senior director in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

from 1946 to 1950, built the theater in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, and headed the theater in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

from 1954. In 1960, he took over the management of the city theater and later Saarland State Theatre in Saarbrücken. He was artistic director at

from 1983 to 1996. Wedekind was married to the actress Grete Schaun (1911–2007). The director Michael Wedekind is a son. His daughter Claudia Wedekind died in 2015.

Works (selection)

*1949: Das Balver Zeitwendspiel (

Theodor Pröpper Theodor Pröpper (26 May 1896 – 31 July 1979) was a German church organist and composer. Pröpper was born in Balve and spent most of his career there as an organist at Saint Blasius church. Career Pröpper studied at the church music sc ...

) *1950 / 1995: Das große Welttheater, as director *1984–1986: Katharina von Georgien *1995: Robin Hood, as artistic director

Honors

*Albert-Schweitzer-Friedenspreis (1982) *

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

(1984) * Saarland Order of Merit (1986) *Honorary citizen of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(1995) *''Kulturpreis''

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

(1995)

Literature

References

External links

* * 1910 births 1998 deaths People from Coesfeld German theatre directors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Recipients of the Saarland Order of Merit Westphalia culture {{Germany-bio-stub