Jeanette Spassova (Bulgarian: Жанет Спасова, born 27 January 1962) is a Bulgarian-German actress.
Life and career
The daughter of actor and general theatre administrator Vassil Spassov and his wife Teresa Azaryan (sister of director Krikor Azaryan), Spassova grew up in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. She attended the Galabov Gymnasium, a German-language secondary school in Sofia, and then studied drama at the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. While still a student she met author and director
Ivan Stanev. She was one of the founder members of Stanev's first theatre company, and together they developed their own special language for theatre. This provoked a fierce reaction from the board of censors in Bulgaria, an
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
state at the time, and led to Stanev being temporarily barred from exercising his profession
In 1987 Spassova was engaged by the State theatre “ Sofia” in Sofia, where she made her debut in the role of Marie in Stanev's production Die Wunde Woyzeck. In 1988
Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...
invited the company to stage the production in West
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. After this guest performance, which formed part of the Heiner-Müller Werkschau, Stanev did not return to Bulgaria. In 1989 he invited Spassova to
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, where she played the leading role in Stanev's collage Betrogen/Gestern nach einem sonnigen Nachmittag at the Studiotheater Munich.
In 1990 Spassova moved to Berlin, founded an international theatre company with Stanev and performed at the
Hebbel Theater
The Hebbel-Theater (Hebbel Theatre) is a historic theatre building for plays in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany. It has been a venue of the company Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) from 2003.
The theatre, with approximately 800 seats, was built by Oskar Kaufmann ...
and the Podewil.
In 1996 she signed on with the
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and until 2000 performed there in numerous productions by
Frank Castorf
Frank Castorf (born 17 July 1951 in East Berlin) is a German theater director and was the artistic director of the ''Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz'' from 1992 to 2015. His work is often associated with postdramatic theatre.
Biography
...
, Christoph Marthaler and Penelope Wehrli, among others. She went on to work as a free-lance actress 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 ...
(
Theater Basel
Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas.
Because the theatre does not h ...
), Munich (
Münchner Kammerspiele
The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three venues: the main stage of ...
) and Salzburg (
Salzburger Festspiele
The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
) and continued to work with
Ivan Stanev and his ensemble in Berlin and France.
In 2004 she returned to the Volksbühne in Berlin and until 2017 remained there as a permanent member of the company.
In addition to her work in theatre, Spassova has also played parts in many radio plays and audio books.
Her first roles as a film actress were in Tom Toelle's Bismarck, Stanev's Villa dei Misteri and Luxor Las Vegas and in Castorf's Dämonen and Der Idiot.
In 2012 Spassova played the leading role in the Bulgarian feature film "Az sum Ti" (English: "I am You") and received several awards for her performance. In 2013 "Az sum Ti" was screened at the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival.
Work in theatre (selection)
*1989: ''Betrogen/Gestern an einem sonnigen Nachmittag'' von Pinter / Müller - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1990: ''Schuld und Bühne'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1991: ''Hermaphroditus'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1992: ''Brüderchen und Schwesterchen'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1993: ''Die Mutter'' von Witkiewitch - Regie: Peter Staatsmann
*1995: ''Die Möwe'' von Tschechow - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1996: ''Hochzeitsreise'' von Sorokin - Regie: Frank Castorf
*1996: ''Anne Sexton'' - Regie: Penelope. Wehrli
*1997: ''Des Teufels General'' von Zuckmeyer - Regie: Frank Castorf
*1998: ''Sprechen/Schweigen'' nach Ionesco, Wittgenstein - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1998: ''Good night, Ladies'' nach Schakespeare - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1999: ''Don Juan im Kumpelnest 2000'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*1999: ''Dämonen'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2000: ''Le Bleu du ciel'' von George Bataille - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2001: ''Erniedrigte und Beleidigte'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2001: ''Macbeth'' von Schakespeare - Regie: Calixto Bieito
*2001: ''Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung'' von Horvath - Regie: Albrecht Hirche
*2002: ''Der Idiot'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2002: ''Luxor Las Vegas'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2004: ''Kokain'' von Pitigrilli - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2004: ''Meine Schneekönigin'' von Andersen - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2004: ''Hollywood forever'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2005: ''Schuld und Sühne'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2006: ''Im Dickicht der Städte'' von Brecht - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2007: ''De Frau'' - Regie: Jonathan Meese
*2008: ''Maßnahme/Mauser'' von Brecht, Müller - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2008: ''Kean'' von Dumas - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2009: ''Mord im Burgtheater'' von Ivan Stanev - Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2010: ''Nach Moskau, nach Moskau'' von Tschechow - Regie: Frank Castorf
*2012: ''Fucking Liberty'' von Ulli Lommel - Regie: Ulli Lommel
*2014: "Bitte bei TOTLEBEN klingeln" - Text, Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2015: "Kaputt" von Malaparte - Regie Frank Castorf
*2015: "Verbrennung" von Wajdi Mouawad - Regie Carolin Mylord
*2016: "Locus Solus" von Raymond Roussel - Regie Christof Garbaczewski
*2017: "Die Reise nach Petuschki" von Wenedikt Jerofeev,Volksbühne Berlin - Regie: S.Klink
*2017: "Scherzo di Follia", freie Theaterproduktion Berlin - Text und Regie: Ivan Stanev
*2017: "Das Milleu der Toten", Stimme, Produktion: Mobile Akademie, Theater der Welt
*2018: "Liberté", Volksbühne Berlin; Text, Regie: Albert Serra
*2018: "Place Fantôme"", Hauptstadtkulturfonds Berlin; Text, Regie: Ivan Stanev
Radio plays and audio books
* "Solea" von Izzo - Regie: Ulrich Gerhardt, DLR Kultur 2003
* "Zwei sehr ernsthafte Damen" von Bowles - Regie: Heike Tauch, DLR Kultur,2005
* "Mosaik" von Beyer - Regie: Klaus Buhlert, HR/DLF 2005, Hörspiel des Monats November 2005, Hörspiel des Jahres 2005
* "Stilleben in einem Graben" von Paradino - Regie: Steffen Moratz, MDR, 2006
* "Urfaust" von Goethe - Regie: Leonhard Koppelmann, Hörbuch Argon Verlag, 2007
* "Kurze Geschichte des Traktors auf Ukrainisch" von Levicka - Regie: Oliver Sturm, MDR Figaro
* "Schöne Aussicht" von Röhrig - Regie: Götz Fritsch, MDR 2008
* "Ein Held unserer Zeit" von Lermontow, Regie: Oliver Sturm, HR/SWR/DLF 2008
* "Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften" von Robert Musil - Regie: Klaus Buhlert, BR
* "Der Schlafwandler" von Hermann Broch - Regie: Klaus Buhlert, BR
* "Der Process" von Franz Kafka - Regie: Klaus Buhlert, BR 2011,
''Der Process'' im DNB-Katalog
/ref> Hörspiel des Monats Dezember, 2010
* "Galaveranstaltung" von David Mairowitz - Regie David Mairowitz, RBB 2016
* "Das Ende der Paraden" von Ford Madox Ford - Regie: Klaus Buhlert, BR 2017
Filmography (selection)
* ''Bismarck'' - Regie: Tom Toelle
* ''Villa dei Misteri'' - Buch, Regie: Ivan Stanev
* ''Luxor Las Vegas'' - Buch, Regie: Ivan Stanev
* ''Dämonen'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf, 2000
* ''Der Idiot'' von Dostojewski - Regie: Frank Castorf, 2002
* ''Az sum ti'' (''I am You'') - Regie: Petar Popzlatev, 2012
* ''Moghen Paris'' - Regie Katharina Copony, 2016
* ' - Robert Thalheim
Robert Thalheim (born July 2, 1974, in Berlin) is a German stage and film director and screenwriter.
Thalheim was an assistant director at the ''Berlin Ensemble, Berliner Ensemble'' in 1997–98. He then studied modern German literature, history a ...
, 2017
* ''Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush'' - Regie Andreas Dresen, 2020
* ''Das Privileg'' - Regie Katharina Schöne und Felix Fuchssteiner, 2021
* ''Tatort - Macht der Familie'' - Regie Niki Stein, 2021
* ''Stella. A Life.
''Stella. A Life.'' () is a 2023 German Biographical drama film. This is based on the true story of Stella Goldschlag, who delivered hundreds of fellow Jews to the Gestapo from September 1943 until the end of the war. Paula Beer plays Stella.
Th ...
'' - Regie Kilian Riedhof, 2023
Awards
* Golden Rose
The Golden Rose (, ) is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection. Recipients have included churches and sanctuaries, royalty, mili ...
(Zlatna Rosa), Varna 2012
* Bulgarian Film Academy, Best Actress 2012
External links
*
* Kerstin Decker
Ein Land, wo Apfelsinen blühten
Der Tagesspiegel vom 23. April 2005
PLACE FANTÔME
La Castiglione: Jeanette Spassova. Written and Directed by Ivan Stanev
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spassova, Jeanette
German stage actresses
German film actresses
1962 births
Living people
Actors from Plovdiv
Bulgarian emigrants to Germany
Bulgarian expatriates in Germany