Markus Kupferblum (born 12 June 1964) is an Austrian theatre and opera director, playwright and clown. He founded the first Austrian Fringe Opera Company, Totales Theater, in Vienna and is an expert on ''

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

'' and mask theatre. Markus Kupferblum at his piano - Vienna 2007

He studied at the University of Vienna, at the School of Philippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux in Paris and at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He was assistant to Antoine Vitez and Achim Freyer. Since 2013, he has been the founder and director of the interdisciplinary music theatre ensemble Schlüterwerke in Vienna. He has directed and shown productions in France, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Belgium, the United States of America, Korea, Armenia, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Russia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Peru, Turkey, Switzerland, and Italy. He was awarded the ''"1. Prix de l'Humour"'' at the

Avignon Festival The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival (), is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean ...

in 1993 and is known for working across the genres of opera, circus, theatre, and film and exploring unusual performance spaces for his productions. In 2007 he received the Nestroy Theatre Prize for the best German-language fringe production for his play ''The Abandoned Dido''. 2019 he received the Operetta Award "Operetten Frosch" by the Bavarian National Radio for his production of the Operetta Cloclo by Franz Lehár. In 2012 he founded the European Theatre Day of Tolerance which is commemorated on every 1 February. On this occasion a Memorandum for peace and tolerance is read before the performances of almost 1,000 theaters throughout Europe and beyond. In 2013 his book ''Die Geburt der Neugier aus dem Geist der Revolution. Die Commedia dell'Arte als politisches Volkstheater'' was published by Facultas, Vienna University Press. In 2023 his book ''The Beauty of Helena - A Guide to the Art of Acting'' was published bilingual, German and English, at Verlag Der Apfel, Vienna, Austria He has taught acting, directing and creative writing at, for example, the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, Max Reinhardt Seminar, University of Music and Performing Arts (Vienna), University of Applied Arts (Vienna),

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, Michigan University,

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, New Haven,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

und der CUNY University, both in New York City,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Harvard University - Mahindra Humanities Center
/ref> and the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

in Boston, the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt, Theaterakademie August Everding München, Escuela Nacional del Teatro de Bolivia, and others. Since 2018 he has been Senior Lecturer at the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

, where he teaches opera directing and drama for singers. He is a member of the International P.E.N. Club.

Notes

External links

Website of Markus Kupferblum

Literature by Markus Kupferblum
in the catalogue of the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (, ) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Hofburg#Neue Burg, Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in Innere Stadt, center of Vienna. Sin ...

Joanneum National Museum – The Power of Masks

Kupferblum on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupferblum, Markus 1964 births Austrian clowns Austrian male writers Austrian theatre directors Living people