Kurt Horres (28 November 1932 – 2 January 2023) was a German stage director, particularly of opera, and opera manager. He held positions as general manager at the
Staatstheater Darmstadt
The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the German states, state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its hi ...
, the
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...
, and from 1986 to 1996 at the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its music director since 2009. The resident orchestra, t ...
. He focused on opera of the 20th century, including composers who had been banned during the Nazi regime, such as Korngold's ''
Die tote Stadt
(German for ''The Dead City''), Opus number, Op. 12, is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) set to a libretto by Paul Schott, a collective pseudonym for the composer and his father, Julius Korngold. It premiered in ...
'', and literature operas including
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
Bio ...
's ''Kabale und Liebe'', and the world premieres of Blacher's ''
Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund,'' and Klebe's ''
Das Mädchen aus Domrémy''. He taught stage direction at the
Folkwang University
The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...
.
Life and career
Horres was born in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
on 28 November 1932.
He studied German studies, theatre science, and art history
at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
and at the
Robert Schumann Conservatory
Robert Schumann Hochschule is a school for music studies at university level in Düsseldorf, Germany. It has a student body of some 850 from over forty countries. Forty-seven full-time and part-time faculty and two hundred associate professors pr ...
in Düsseldorf.
Horres began his career at the
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 ...
,
assisting
Walter Felsenstein
Walter Felsenstein (30 May 1901 – 8 October 1975) was an Austrian theater and opera director.
He was one of the most important exponents of textual accuracy, productions in which dramatic and musical values were exquisitely researched and b ...
.
He worked as a stage director at the
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 ...
, the
Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company.
History of the company
From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...
, and
Theater Bonn
Theater Bonn (also known as the Stadttheater Bonn) is the municipal theatre company of Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is an organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts. It operates several performance venu ...
.
He was ''Oberspielleiter'' at the Theater Lübeck
until 1964, and then for eleven years opera manager at 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 ...
.
There he promoted literature operas by composers such as
Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, academic composition teacher and conductor.
Life and career
Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense ...
and
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...
. He directed the world premiere of Blacher's ''
Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund'' on 15 September 1973, with dancer
Pina Bausch
Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylised blend of dance move ...
in the mute title role.
During his later years there, Bausch's dance theatre flourished at the same house.
His first became a general manager (Intendant) at the
Staatstheater Darmstadt
The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the German states, state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its hi ...
in 1976,
with his production of Britten's ''
Tod in Venedig
Yoan "ToD" Merlo is a French former professional player of the real-time strategy games ''Warcraft III'' and ''Starcraft II''. In ''WarCraft III'' he played as the Human race and in ''StarCraft'' he played as Protoss. he was signed to the top es ...
'' being well known.
In 1976, he directed the world premiere of Klebe's ''
Das Mädchen aus Domrémy'' at the
Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgart Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama ...
, and in 1980, the premiere of his ''
Der Jüngste Tag
''Der Jüngste Tag'', op.82, (''Judgment Day'') is an opera in three acts composed by Giselher Klebe. His wife, Lore Klebe, wrote the libretto based on the play of the same name by Ödön von Horváth.
The opera premiered in 1980 at the Nation ...
'' at the
Mannheim National Theatre
The Mannheim National Theatre () is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany.
History
In the 18th century Mannheim was the cap ...
, with
Hans Wallat
Hans Wallat (18 October 1929 – 11 December 2014) was a German conductor, GMD in Bremen, at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Dortmund and Deutsche Oper am Rhein. A specialist for the stage works of Richard Wagner, he appeared at the Bayre ...
conducting.
In 1983, he staged the world premiere of Klebe's ''
Die Fastnachtsbeichte
''Carnival confession'' (), by Carl Zuckmayer, is one of the better-known examples of German literature regarding Mainz carnival. The novel was published first in English language, by John Geoffrey Gryles Mander and Necke Mander, in 1961 in Lond ...
'' in Darmstadt, conducted by
Hans Drewanz
Hans Drewanz (2 December 1929 – 22 June 2021) was a German conductor and academic teacher. He was the Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of Darmstadt for more than three decades, shaping musical life in the town especially at the Staatstheater Darmstad ...
.
In 1984, he became general manager of the
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...
in 1984.
He chose for his first production Mussorgsky's ''
Boris Godunov
Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
'', using an extremely large ensemble in order to engage with as many employees at the house as possible. However, he faced opposition from opera director Rolf Mares, who was responsible for finances, as well as with conductor
Hans Zender
Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...
and stage technicians who had to work extra hours. The reaction of the audience and press reviews of the premiere were disastrous, and Horres requested to have his contract ended early.
Horres became general manager of the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its music director since 2009. The resident orchestra, t ...
in Düsseldorf and Oberhausen in 1986, succeeding . He began his tenure with Fortner's ''
Bluthochzeit'' on 12 October 1986, conducted by Hans Wallat.
He focused on directing, as well as managing, contemporary opera. Approximately one third of the 60 productions during his tenure were dedicated to works from the 20th century, including operas by
Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...
and
Udo Zimmermann
Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig ...
,
as well as world premieres and German premieres. He organised a production of Wagner's ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
'' in collaboration with the Cologne Opera.
He directed ''Unter dem Milchwald'' by
Walter Steffens and
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
Bio ...
's ''Kabale und Liebe'', both in 1973, and ''
Die Frau ohne Schatten
' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the V ...
'' by Richard Strauss in 1977.
Tours took the troupe to Brussels, Moscow, and Vienna. In October 1989, shortly before the fall of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
, the ensemble played Korngold's ''
Die tote Stadt
(German for ''The Dead City''), Opus number, Op. 12, is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) set to a libretto by Paul Schott, a collective pseudonym for the composer and his father, Julius Korngold. It premiered in ...
'' and Klebe's ''Der Jüngste Tag'' at 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 ...
. He held the position until 1996.
He worked as a freelance stage director, with productions at the
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...
in Munich,
Oper Frankfurt
The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt.
Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...
, and in Amsterdam and Stockholm.
He taught stage direction at the
Folkwang University
The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...
.
Horres died on 2 January 2023, at age 90 after a long serious illness.
, his successor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, wrote in memory of what he called one of the personalities who shaped the house: "With great artistic passion, Kurt Horres worked above all as a pioneer of modernity who firmly believed in the future of opera as an art form and convinced audiences of its relevance time and again" ("Mit großer künstlerischer Leidenschaft wirkte Kurt Horres vor allem als Wegbereiter der Moderne, der fest an die Zukunft der Kunstform Oper glaubte und das Publikum immer wieder von ihrer Relevanz überzeugte").
Awards
* 1973:
* 1996:
Duisburger Musikpreis
References
External links
Kurt HorresOperabase
(audio, in German)
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
(; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horres, Kurt
1932 births
2023 deaths
German theatre directors
German opera directors
Robert Schumann Hochschule alumni
People from Düsseldorf
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Academic staff of the Folkwang University of the Arts